REVEALED: The council bosses getting paid more than the Prime Minister
Golden handshakes, sky-high salaries and pension payouts - find out how much the bosses at your local council earn.
They oversee the day-to-day running of our local authorities, presiding over the management of vital services in a bid to ensure that our councils offer value for money to the tax paying public.
And as the annual town hall rich list shows, the top officers at our councils are extremely well reimbursed for their efforts.
Scroll down for detail on the top earners at your council
When pension contributions are taken into consideration, sixteen top earners across the region took home more than Prime Minister Theresa May’s salary of around £151,000 in 2016/17, with dozens of other senior staff seeing their pay packets bust through the £100,000 mark.
Chief executives given £200,000+
They include Staffordshire County Council’s chief executive John Henderson, who was paid £203,393 according to the Taxpayers’ Alliance, which has compiled the report annually for the last nine years.
The same authority’s director of families and communities, Helen Riley, received £175,684, and finance director Andrew Burns was paid £173,940.
Elsewhere in the region, Dudley Council’s chief executive Sarah Norman got £189,000, while Walsall Council’s former top boss Paul Sheehan received £198,562.
Sandwell Council’s chief executive Jan Britton was paid £158,681, with the authority topping up his pension by £18,301.
Keith Ireland, the managing director of Wolverhampton Council received £177,316.
The figures show that across the country more than 2,000 senior council officials earned in excess of £100,000.
Deborah Cadman, the chief executive of the West Midlands Combined Authority, was paid £216,268 including pension contributions in her previous role as boss of Suffolk County Council.
Justified?
The Taxpayers’ Alliance insists there are too many council staff earning astronomical salaries at a time when council tax is rising and services are being cut.
However, Walsall Council’s opposition Tory leader Mike Bird says some officers could justify the amounts they get paid due to the high-risk nature of the job.
He said: “If you are director of children’s services and something goes wrong in your area, it can be career ending, you may not be able to get another job.
“That is why I never criticise the salaries because when things go wrong, they get hit the hardest. And, at the end of the day, if you pay peanuts, you get monkeys. And that is not what we want.”
Councillor Milkinder Jaspal, cabinet member for Governance, said council officers in the city were a vital part of its rejuvenation.
“Some of the good things which go on at councils are not down to elected members, but the officers behind the scenes,” he said.
“In Wolverhampton, they do represent offer value for money.”
Golden handshake
Dudley Council had six senior staff on more than £100,000 in 2016/17, including former strategic director for resources and transformation, Philip Tart, who picked up a £95,000 ‘golden handshake’ as part of a total remuneration of £127,000.
The post has since been made redundant, while the council has revised its severance policy to introduce a cap on payments for all employees.
Chief executive Mrs Norman said the number of senior management positions had at the authority had ‘significantly reduced’ over the last few years.
She said that senior managers now took on additional work and additional responsibilities ‘to ensure the highest standard of service and value for money for our residents’.
“We work hard to recruit the best staff, at all levels of our organisation and we believe that our skilled and experienced senior managers help us to deliver strong council services,” she added. Senior pay levels are decided by democratically elected councillors in an open and transparent way.”
Stafford Borough Council saw now departed chief executive Ian Thompson paid £129,310 including pension contributions.
The incumbent Tim Clegg, who has held the position since November 2016, is on £109,649.
Keep scrolling for the full list of each council's top earners
A total of 17 Staffordshire County Council officers were paid more than £100,000 in the year, but the authority’s leader, Councillor Philip Atkins, points out that the council has streamlined its core senior leadership team, who are paid in line with the recommended guidelines for local government officers.
He said the authority was still managing to protect services for the most vulnerable people in Staffordshire despite having to make £240m in cuts since 2009.
The figures show that Wyre Forest District Council’s chief executive Ian Miller earned £125,204 in 2016/17, Shropshire Council’s boss Clive Wright got £144,685, and Telford and Wrekin Council’s managing director Richard Partington received £155,160.
According to the report, at least 16 local government bosses received more than £300,000 in 2016/17, while four grossed in excess of £500,000.
Staffordshire County Council
Staffordshire County Council paid more officials £100,000 or more than any other authority in the West Midlands, according to the latest town hall rich list.
Seventeen officers were paid more than £100,000 last year, according to the town hall rich list.
The authority’s top earners took home combined salaries of £2.23 million in 2016/17, with chief executive John Henderson heading the list on £203,393.
Other big earners included director of families and communities, Helen Riley, who was paid £175,684, including an employer pension contribution of £29,233.
Director of finance and resources, Andrew Burns, received £173,940, including an employer pension contribution of £29,233 and expenses of £9,367.
It comes as Staffordshire County Council raises its council tax by 5.95 per cent. It will see those in a Band D property pay £68 more a year.
Councillor Philip Atkins, Leader of Staffordshire County Council, said: “As a county council, we have reduced our own running costs by £240m since 2009 while still protecting services. We now have a smaller core senior leadership team who are paid in line with the recommended guidelines.”
Stafford Borough Council
At Stafford Borough Council, one employee was paid more than £100,000, according to the latest town hall rich list.
Departed chief executive Ian Thompson was paid £129,310.
Wolverhampton council
Eleven council officers in Wolverhampton were paid more than £100,000 last year, according to the latest town hall rich list.
They include the former assistant director of investment, who received a £53,034 golden handshake on leaving the city council.
The combined earnings of the 11 officers was £1.45 million.
Managing director Keith Ireland topped the list of council high earners, taking home £177,316 in 2016/17 with pension contributions of £33,391 – more than £2,700 a month.
Strategic director of place, Tim Johnson, was paid £164,024.
A former strategic director of pensions was also given £164,024.
Current strategic director of pensions, Rachel Brothwood, bought in three years ago, received £141,480.
Former director of finance, Mark Taylor, was paid £128,501.
It comes as council tax goes up 3.99 per cent in Wolverhampton with an extra £19.5 million in savings to be found by 2019.
Councillor Milkinder Jaspal, cabinet member for Governance, said: “We have got rid of all the consultants, we are doing a restructure, we are trying to reduce the number of officers and keep down salaries, but still offer enough to attract quality candidates.”
Sandwell Council
Nine council officers in Sandwell were paid more than £100,000 last year, according to the latest town hall rich list.
The cash-strapped authority’s top earners took home combined salaries of £1.2 million in 2016/17.
Chief executive Jan Britton headed the list on £158,681. The payout included a pension top-up of £18,301 – more than £1,500 in contributions a month.
Others with bulging wage packets include former assistant chief executive Melanie Dudley, who left her role in 2016 and picked up £155,595. The position has since been scrapped as part of an overhaul of the authority’s senior management structure.
Ex-director of neighbourhood services Adrian Scarrott was paid £148,744.
Former director of children’s services Matthew Sampson received £135,058.
Adult social care director David Stevens got £135,058.
Education director Chris Ward was paid £101,476.
It comes as council tax in Sandwell is set to rise by five per cent this year, with a further 3.99 per cent increase pencilled in for 2019/20.
Sandwell Council spokeswoman Jayne Maull said the authority had questioned the figures. “Although the figures quoted are inaccurate and out of date, Sandwell’s numbers are comparable to councils of similar size as well as neighbouring authorities.”
Dudley Council
An ex-director at cash-strapped Dudley Council received a £95,000 ‘golden handshake’ on leaving as six officers took home more than £100,000 in a year, according to the latest town hall rich list .
It shows former strategic director for resources and transformation, Philip Tart, was given the compensation package for the loss of his office.
He was one off six officers at Dudley Council took home more than £100,000 in the financial year 2016/17, adding up to £838,000 in total.
Top of the pile was chief executive Sarah Norman, who had a £167,000 salary plus £22,000 in pension contributions – more than £1,800 a month. It brought her total package to £189,000.
Former strategic director for people, now chief executive at Bolton Council, Tony Oakham was also paid £165,000 by Dudley Council.
The council’s strategic director of place, Alan Lunt, got £134,000.
Chief officer for finance and legal, Iain Newman, was given £115,000.
Chief officer for health and well-being Deborah Harkins reeived £108,000.
Mr Tart’s ‘golden handshake’ was on top of a £23,000 salary he received in 2016/17.
It comes as Dudley Council raised its council tax payments by 4.5 per cent.
Councillor David Vickers, deputy leader of the council, said: “To get the quality of staff at the present time you do need to pay a competitive wage. If someone decides to leave we will make certain the wage is looked at closely.”
Walsall Council
The ex-chief executive of Walsall Council was paid more than any other council official in the Black Country, taking home almost £200,000 in a year, according to the latest town hall rich list.
Paul Sheehan, who was replaced by Dr Helen Paterson, received £198,562 in 2016/17. The amount included a £196,214 salary and £2,348 in expenses. The chief executive salary has since dropped to £165,000.
In total, eight officials at Walsall Council received more than £100,000 in 2016/17, collecting a combined total of £1.07m.
Others at the top of the earning list are the director of children’s services, who was paid £137,191.
The director for regeneration services and economy and the environment received £137,125
The director of social care got £130,642.
Walsall Council was unable to provide names of the directors.
It comes as council tax in Walsall goes up 4.99 per cent with bills going up £78 on average.
Leader of the Conservative group at Walsall Council, Councillor Mike Bird, said: “If there was something called reincarnation, I would like to come back as a council senior officer. There are some people who are paid a lot because they are professional and very talented at what they do. Obviously, that is not always everyone.”
