York council chief turns down pay rise (From York Press)

At £120k a year im fairly sure she can afford it!

LOL.good for her,every little helps in these hard times.
The vast majority of CYC workers have however been asked to take a day unpaid leave during the year to save x amount of money and are currently undergoing an array of restructuring projects which will result in cuts to some services and outsourcing of other services to get things done more efficiently.
With even more budget cuts set to be imposed withing the coming financial years we never know what may be around the corner.

She said she might still be entitled to a national pay award but that had been frozen for chief officers for some years.

Town Clerks were asked by the government to show restraint in accepting pay rises, Mrs England failed to do so previously and took a rises in line with her contract quoting other equally absurd council heads salaries as the reason. I'm glad she's decided to show some decency this time round, but I'd imagine if her and her ilk hadn't the decision would've been taken for them. It's best not to forget that in announcing council tax rises recently this council is saying it can't make savings and as that should be Mrs England's top priority at present I think not taking a pay rise is the least she can do.

I understand that our Councillors are foregoing their expenses next year in a bid to help the financial situation. I don't whether this is true.

When will this government start thinking along the lines of a full and very importantly, an independent, comprehensive review into the salaries and conditions of these professional managers and executives, who are on the public payroll?? Where, when and how did they strike such very generous settlements and who agreed to them and signed them off?? People holding positions like Mrs. England were once adequately and well rewarded as Town Clerks but they now cast themselves as highly paid/highly dynamic executives. Public service is much different to the Boardroom and should be driven primarily by public-duty and much less so, with the dynamics of the private sector and it's remuneration packages and ethos. In the public domain, it is now unaffordable and quite frankly un-necessary to sustain these posts and management mechanism(s), esp. at this present time, and maybe the names of Goodwin and Hestor(and more will follow), are starting to come into focus with all those in receipt of "executive" pay and awards whether in the public or private sectors??

RooBeck wrote:
When will this government start thinking along the lines of a full and very importantly, an independent, comprehensive review into the salaries and conditions of these professional managers and executives, who are on the public payroll?? Where, when and how did they strike such very generous settlements and who agreed to them and signed them off?? People holding positions like Mrs. England were once adequately and well rewarded as Town Clerks but they now cast themselves as highly paid/highly dynamic executives. Public service is much different to the Boardroom and should be driven primarily by public-duty and much less so, with the dynamics of the private sector and it's remuneration packages and ethos. In the public domain, it is now unaffordable and quite frankly un-necessary to sustain these posts and management mechanism(s), esp. at this present time, and maybe the names of Goodwin and Hestor(and more will follow), are starting to come into focus with all those in receipt of "executive" pay and awards whether in the public or private sectors??

If she had to live with the amount that most of us try to live with then she would't have made this decicion. She's, and she only too well know it, vastly overpaid for what can only be described as a cosy warm office job.

twigger wrote:

RooBeck wrote:
When will this government start thinking along the lines of a full and very importantly, an independent, comprehensive review into the salaries and conditions of these professional managers and executives, who are on the public payroll?? Where, when and how did they strike such very generous settlements and who agreed to them and signed them off?? People holding positions like Mrs. England were once adequately and well rewarded as Town Clerks but they now cast themselves as highly paid/highly dynamic executives. Public service is much different to the Boardroom and should be driven primarily by public-duty and much less so, with the dynamics of the private sector and it's remuneration packages and ethos. In the public domain, it is now unaffordable and quite frankly un-necessary to sustain these posts and management mechanism(s), esp. at this present time, and maybe the names of Goodwin and Hestor(and more will follow), are starting to come into focus with all those in receipt of "executive" pay and awards whether in the public or private sectors??

If she had to live with the amount that most of us try to live with then she would't have made this decicion. She's, and she only too well know it, vastly overpaid for what can only be described as a cosy warm office job.

How can you describe this as a cosy warm office job. Didn't she recently go to South Korea on a junket?

Councillors pay is now tied to the increase agreed for all local authority workers.

That is likely to be 0% for the forthcoming year.

They have however started the process for a review of their relative pay rates. They would be wise to abandon that initiative.

The Council is including in its budget, for the forthcoming year, an extra £772,000 to cover "pay increments".

It will be interesting to see how many forgo these rises in the light of - for example - the planned £1.5 million reduction in highways maintenance expenditure.

In answer to LibDem. The short answer is of course, none.

Can I have the raise she doesn't want, please.!!

The Press says..............
Ms England has also been subject to a national pay freeze for some years, but still insists on her performance being assessed against the priorities set for her,

I wasn't aware it was her choice as to how her performance is monitored, surely in a job like hers that was written into her contract along with her over generous pay and conditions?

The Press says..............
Perhaps RBS should have head hunted her years ago. It might not be in such a mess if it had; nor would the rest of us.

I can't see this, she's not managed to make enough efficiency savings in the small council she runs to freeze council tax, so how she would have forseen the collapse of multi billion pound investments at RBS is anyones guess? Her "business's" "income" is guaranteed, all she has to do is maintain costs below that level and provide the same service. The income of RBS and any other private business can collapse at any time as history has proved, to compare her skill level and demands of the job to that of the head of a private business is laughable.

Torycouncil2015 wrote:
At £120k a year im fairly sure she can afford it!

£150,000+ I believe Torycouncil2015.

What is highly inappropriate Ms England, is a council employing someone who is no more than a ceremonial public servant whilst paying her more money than the Prime Minister of this country. Absolutely outrageous. If this is some effort on Ms England's part to gain kudos and curry favour with York's much burdened tax-paying residents, then it's in very poor taste. Sympathy for the devil? I don't think so.

Councils are gravy trains for the managerially average and perpetual hangers-on (usually for early retirement and a cracking pension deal) who hide from accountability on 'good money'.

CoYC, your terms of surrender: Privatisation of all management posts earning above £30,000pa, redundancy of ceremonial posts such as Chief Exec and protection of all public frontline posts - the lower salaried workers deserving of a decent and fiscally sustainable pension. The terms of your surrender are non-negotiable.

Damned if you do and damned if you don't it would seem. As for privatisation of services, I fail to see why paying a firm which has to pay dividends to shareholders, or just big salaries to its executives (or both ) is preferable to the current tax funded system. Privatisation usually means less pay for more work, something which I suspect most of the posters on this site would be unwilling to accept for themselves.

... to compare her skill level and demands of the job to that of the head of a private business is laughable.”-Pete the Brickie

Pete, having seen Kersten England in action I can tell you she's worth every penny. She would be a fantastic CEO for any private business you care to mention, and at a salary three times that of the CoYC salary. For CoYC's sake I hope she doesn't realise that..!

Kersten England did not come out of the Union Terrace car park debacle with her integrity intact. She demonstrated a political partisanship that was inappropriate for someone in her position and was wilfully disisgenuous regarding her "recollection" of the history of the whole proposed sale.

Once someone lies to protect their position it is very hard to trust them on many other issues.

Garrowby Turnoff wrote:

... to compare her skill level and demands of the job to that of the head of a private business is laughable.”-Pete the Brickie

Pete, having seen Kersten England in action I can tell you she's worth every penny. She would be a fantastic CEO for any private business you care to mention, and at a salary three times that of the CoYC salary. For CoYC's sake I hope she doesn't realise that..!

I'm glad you think her salary is good value Garrowby, but just out of interest rather than "me naming them", perhaps you could suggest a few private companies currently advertising for CEO's with a starting salary of £450k and final salary pension scheme? If you do find one and she does realise her true potential and they offer her the job, I think you'll find the walls of the council will stay firmly standing in the event of this unlikely event occuring and her not being replaced. North Yorkshire Police have recently demonstrated they can operate as normal without an effective Chief Constable for months.

Garrowby Turnoff wrote:

... to compare her skill level and demands of the job to that of the head of a private business is laughable.”-Pete the Brickie

Pete, having seen Kersten England in action I can tell you she's worth every penny. She would be a fantastic CEO for any private business you care to mention, and at a salary three times that of the CoYC salary. For CoYC's sake I hope she doesn't realise that..!

Ask yourself this. Why hasn't Kersten made the leap to the private sector?

Labour voter, parent, female, works in HR (possibly council HR) or as an estate agent - mediocre pay, left-handed, states belief without fact, wears spectacles of slightly tinted light red shade. Need I go on? Bored.

bloodaxe - nobody suggested shareholders. It's all about accountability.

"Privatisation usually means less pay for more work, something which I suspect most of the posters on this site would be unwilling to accept for themselves"

Personally, I think she's probably pretty well paid - but its nice to see she's exercising a little restrant anyway.

@ Twigger, Hey, I have "what can only be described as a cosy warm office job” too! It doesn't mean I should be paid any less, does it? It's not where I work, its what I do that matters. Less implicit bashing of office workers please!

@ ReginaldBiscuit - "Labour voter, parent, female, works in HR (possibly council HR) or as an estate agent - mediocre pay, left-handed, states belief without fact, wears spectacles of slightly tinted light red shade. Need I go on?" Not sure I understand where you're going with that. The fact I'm left handed and wear glasses doesn't materially affect *my* politics or efficiency, (why should it affect hers?)and my private sector company was quite happy to employ me!

marvell wrote:
Kersten England did not come out of the Union Terrace car park debacle with her integrity intact. She demonstrated a political partisanship that was inappropriate for someone in her position and was wilfully disisgenuous regarding her "recollection" of the history of the whole proposed sale.

Once someone lies to protect their position it is very hard to trust them on many other issues.

And the connection with turning down a pay rise is?

LibDem wrote:
Councillors pay is now tied to the increase agreed for all local authority workers.

That is likely to be 0% for the forthcoming year.

They have however started the process for a review of their relative pay rates. They would be wise to abandon that initiative.

The Council is including in its budget, for the forthcoming year, an extra £772,000 to cover "pay increments".

It will be interesting to see how many forgo these rises in the light of - for example - the planned £1.5 million reduction in highways maintenance expenditure.

Will the Lib Dem councilors be setting a example?

bolero wrote:
I understand that our Councillors are foregoing their expenses next year in a bid to help the financial situation. I don't whether this is true.

At least Ms England uses her head.
The country-and this includes York- is in a deep recession. The simple isn't a time to waste more money for a York chief officer.
Mind you, I think that little James and his cronies will find a way to wrangle more money from the Yrok taxpayers.
After all, he does need more expensive toys!

m dee wrote:

marvell wrote:
Kersten England did not come out of the Union Terrace car park debacle with her integrity intact. She demonstrated a political partisanship that was inappropriate for someone in her position and was wilfully disisgenuous regarding her "recollection" of the history of the whole proposed sale.

Once someone lies to protect their position it is very hard to trust them on many other issues.

And the connection with turning down a pay rise is?

Read the whole article including The Press Comment - "She has a good track record"... she obviously has mates in the media there's no doubt about that...

Torycouncil2015 wrote:
At £120k a year im fairly sure she can afford it!

So what do want her to do?

As Garrowby says Kersten England is a great asset to York. She is driving change to continue to deliver services for the citizens. You want to be really pleased that she came to York when she did. I suspect the reason she isn't in the private sector is that she is passionate about people.

Even AndyD wrote:

Torycouncil2015 wrote:
At £120k a year im fairly sure she can afford it!

So what do want her to do?

Take a pay cut?

Isn't all pay increments frozen for the 'real' staff?? And haven't they been frozen for a couple of years now?
Why should she be any different as she still falls under the heading of 'council employee'.
Once again the real workers miss out!!!

Pete the Brickie wrote:

She said she might still be entitled to a national pay award but that had been frozen for chief officers for some years.

Town Clerks were asked by the government to show restraint in accepting pay rises, Mrs England failed to do so previously and took a rises in line with her contract quoting other equally absurd council heads salaries as the reason. I'm glad she's decided to show some decency this time round, but I'd imagine if her and her ilk hadn't the decision would've been taken for them. It's best not to forget that in announcing council tax rises recently this council is saying it can't make savings and as that should be Mrs England's top priority at present I think not taking a pay rise is the least she can do.

Her and her ilk? What would that be then? Priceless.

Like her or not. overpaid or not.. its a good example for which she should be thanked

about time she got rid of the assistant directors ;and make the directors do there work.
this will help the budget in york.

ElsieLady wrote:
As Garrowby says Kersten England is a great asset to York. She is driving change to continue to deliver services for the citizens. You want to be really pleased that she came to York when she did. I suspect the reason she isn't in the private sector is that she is passionate about people.

Passionate about people.... What tosh
'
Its simple greed nothing else.