Anger grows at £3k-a-week cost of interim council chief (From York Press)
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Anger grows at £3k-a-week cost of interim council chief Neil Taylor
9:57am Tuesday 19th June 2012 in News
ANGER is growing about the estimated £3,000-a-week cost to City of York Council of appointing a new interim director of city and environment services.
Independent councillor Mark Warters has written to chief executive Kersten England to request a full breakdown of the costs of appointing Neil Taylor in the wake of the retirement of Bill Woolley.
The Press revealed last week that Mr Taylor’s recruitment, through executive recruitment firm Gatenby Sanderson, was expected to cost the authority about £3,000 a week.
Coun Warters said taxpayers in Osbaldwick had raised the matter with him.
Green councillor Andy D’Agorne has also raised concerns. He said: “When posts lower down are going unfilled or being deleted, and other staff expected to cover the work, this sends all the wrong messages to the workforce.”
Mrs England said she would ask Mr Taylor to meet group leaders so they could “get a sense of the scale of work which he will be handling.”
She said that given the scale of reduction in the senior management group – from 28 to 17 – she did not feel it was advisable to cover the workload from existing resources and put major important schemes for the city, such as Access York, at any risk.
Labour council leader James Alexander said Coun Warters had not raised any issues when group leaders were sent an email about the matter from Mrs England.
Comments(16)
lowbeam
says...
10:11am Tue 19 Jun 12
Silver
says...
10:15am Tue 19 Jun 12
AngryandFrustrated
says...
11:07am Tue 19 Jun 12
We have a Chief Exec that is paid a very similar salary to that of David Cameron. She should get off her backside and start earning that 6 figure salary by DOING HER JOB and making sure that senior roles within the Council are filled with minimum fuss and expense to the tax-payer. As for Alexander he should be asking the questions himself regarding this expense, not Mark Warters!
As a life long Labour supporter, this current shower disgust me!
osbaldwicklane
says...
11:08am Tue 19 Jun 12
pedalling paul wrote:Paul , some times its good to have a loose cannon . After this lot have left office we will be still paying for them .
Such are the joys of having Independent Councillors. They can bring a breath of fresh air into local politics, but the lack of Party discipline can sometimes also create loose cannons........!
ReginaldBiscuit
says...
11:54am Tue 19 Jun 12
Temporary Director (not required) £160,000+
Council Limo £60,000+
At least the Limo doesn't need a massive pension.
REFUSE to pay your taxes folks. You're being taken for a ride.
meme
says...
3:56pm Tue 19 Jun 12
How could they not have planned for this as Wooley's retirement has been known about for ages?
What can a temp do in 12 weeks for this sort of money?
Wooley will have retired on a pension circa £85000 pa.....I wish I could and what exactly did he do to deserve this money?
K England will get even more
I am not one for civil disobedience but even my patience and good nature is being stretched to breaking point
meme
says...
4:11pm Tue 19 Jun 12
For £3K per week or £156000 pa plus a retirement package of say 80% of final salary who would not want to make some personal sacrifices? Plus of course 'expenses'
Live in the real world. These are huge sums of money to most of us and to get them you should be giving up life itself
You sum up all of what is wrong with the 'political' class. You have lost track of the worth of these people.
They are public servants not wealth creators and should be paid as such
Pete the Brickie
says...
4:33pm Tue 19 Jun 12
The council should simply do what private companies are doing when people leave or retire, ask the existing staff to plug the gaps. People on modest wages are doing just that out in the real world to keep firms viable, why on earth can't the senior staff at COYC do the same for three to five times the average wage? James Alexander should be coming down on Kirsten England publicly like a ton of bricks and demanding her and her deputies sing for their very large suppers.
When he fails to do so I hope Eric Pickles is reading what the council tax payers of York think about it and acts swiftly.
the butler
says...
6:41pm Tue 19 Jun 12
marvell
says...
10:37pm Tue 19 Jun 12
What an utterly shocking waste of valuable public money when valuable charities are being cut due to the spendthrift nature of this Labour cabinet. It's nothing to do with government - the local administration are fairly and squarely in charge of the budget and who gets cut and who doesn't.
Mr Crabtree
says...
1:04pm Wed 20 Jun 12
I suspect that James Alexander is as responsible for this appointment as KE. It is no secret that both of them didn't get on with Woolley, and the void created seems likely to have been engineered, so they could bring in NT.
I am dismayed that KE seems to be saying that Access York is a priority. What about the LDF ? What about the housing crisis ? What about all the stalled developments, what about York's economy that is iheld back by these issues ?
I hope that NT identifies some of the deadwood dealing with these issues and who's misleading reports have killed housebuilding in the city. York's obsession with transport is a misplaced priority when there are far more serious issues facing the city such as a housing shortage caused by irresponsible policies. I sincerely hope that NT gives KE and JA some hometruths.
Mr Crabtree
says...
1:10pm Wed 20 Jun 12
Rumour has it, that Bill Woolley's temporary replacement, Neil Taylor, has been parachuted in to do a hatchet job on under-performing policies and officers. Those behind the affordable housing policy have been living on borrowed time and will certainly be on his 'hit list'.
It's my guess that NT will earn his £3k/week by cutting the council's wage bill by getting rid of the housing strategy officers who's policies don't build houses. Bill Woolley wouldn't sort these culprits out, and with their defender gone, they will be easy meat for NT who will hopefully give them the chop.
We live in hope !
Mr Crabtree
says...
1:11pm Wed 20 Jun 12
ons with JRHT and housing associations. If he does, then, I hope this will result in the lowering of AH targets for S106/planning gain to 10%.
Hopefully, he will identify the causes of York's failure to deliver housing, which we know is down to policy, certain officers and certain councillors. There needs to be a radical change in approach and attitude, and those who are unable to adapt, will have to go.
There is a real opportunity to unlock York's potential, which has been held back by blinkered, ideological councillors and officers for too long.
Mr Crabtree
says...
1:17pm Wed 20 Jun 12
Head of Major Projects & Initiatives.
Housing Strategy Manager.
Housing Development Manager.
What has the work of these individuals produced in terms of housing completions ?
Why have reports written by the first two contained skewed statistics which try to make York look like it is no different to the rest of the country, in terms of the decline in housing completions and planning consents ?
It's time that these politicised officers were made to answer for the mess they have assisted in creating.
Hope Mr Taylor is following this thread......
osbaldwicklane
says...
3:54pm Wed 20 Jun 12
Hope Mr Taylor is following this thread..
If he is do you think Alexander will let him do anything about it. Not a chance , its like that because thats how he wants it .
pedalling paul says...
10:01am Tue 19 Jun 12