Express & Star comment: Paying the price for a top service

At first glance, the Taxpayers' Alliance figures will draw a sharp intake of breath from taxpayers earning an average salary of around £27,000.

However, the senior echelons of our local authorities have long been populated by staff on a lucrative merry-go-round.

Officers tend to move from one highly paid role to another on a regular basis, no matter what their achievements were in their previous post.

Down the years there have been some appalling examples of senior figures in our public services that have left with their tails between their legs, only to then pop up at other lucrative roles elsewhere in the country.

However, running a local authority is not the cushty appointment that it may have been 20 or 30 years ago.

In times of austerity, those at the very top of our councils need to have sharp business brains, excellent PR skills, and a keen sense of financial awareness.

Wolverhampton council's managing director Keith Ireland is a case in point.

In recent years, he has shown what a team of dynamic executives can achieve in terms of their forward thinking property deals and in the way they have rejuvenated parts of the city.

Not everything the city council does will be met with universal agreement, but there is little doubt about the credibility of those in charge.

Certainly, on a much wider scale, the number of stories about frivolous local authority excesses have reduced drastically in recent years, as councils have been reined in by Tory-led national administrations.

Yes, officers still prioritise areas that don't match up to the public's needs of making sure the bins get emptied and the traffic runs smoothly.

But the role of the senior council official is no longer the domain of the time-served town clerk.

As such, big salaries need to be paid, and while some of the job titles may leave the public scratching their heads, in general, our senior officers of today are more competent than they have been in yers.

Bear that in mind the next time your front tyre hits a pothole or your bin remains overflowing.