Lib Dems condemn massive pay increases fro Town Hall top brass (Barnet Borough Liberal Democrats)

Barnet Borough Liberal Democrats <info@barnetlibdems.org.uk>

Lib Dems condemn massive pay increases fro Town Hall top brass

January 27, 2009 8:38 PM

US Vice President Joe Biden earns less than Barnet Council's senior officers

Barnet Council's top bureaucrats are to pocket inflation-busting pay awards thanks to a re-grading of their posts. Many Barnet Council officers now earn more than Joe Biden, the new Vice President of the United States.

To add insult to injury these increases will be in addition to the annual council pay award and are unrelated to individual performance.

Answering questions tabled by the Liberal Democrats, Council Leader Mike Freer has been forced to confirm pay increases ranging from 4.1% to 10%.

Said Lib Dem Councillor Wayne Casey: "At a time when the council is shedding front-line staff like the Welfare Rights team, these pay increases for the Town Hall top brass are a slap in the face for residents and employees."

Adds Cllr Casey, "I am appalled that Barnet council tax-payers are expected to pay these excessive salaries. But to pay top-dollar while services are being cut and without any guarantees for improved levels of performance is daylight robbery."

Conservative councillors agreed these increases at the General Functions Committee Meeting on 8 December 2008. The Conservatives have argued that residents have to pay the most to get the best. This argument is dismissed by the Lib Dems.

"We're in a recession. There are tens of thousands of great people on the job market at the moment, all prepared to work for less than the generous salaries paid by Barnet. " Says Cllr Casey

This pay award contradicts recent statements made by Eric Pickles MP, the Shadow Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, who has promised that a future Conservative government will curb local authority "fat cat" salaries.

Cllr Casey says: "Once again the Conservatives spin promises about what they are going to do in government but, on the ground, in the Councils they control, they act very differently. When Barnet Council stops paying senior staff more than the Vice President of the United States then I might take their posturing seriously