As predicted by Mystic Mary Burns (see here), Salford City Mayor, Ian Stewart is looking to appoint a new Head of Paid Service with a salary between £144,702 to £150,489 (plus add ons).
When Barbara Spicer and her £175,000 salary was ditched late last year the Council indicated that a new Manager would be put in place at a cost of around £70,000 (see here). Now the cost has more than doubled.
A report going to the full Council meeting next week states that, in recruiting the new Head of Paid Service (Chief Exec by any other name), "Clearly it will be crucial to attract a strong field of candidates to such an important role and a salary benchmarking exercise has indicated that the salary should be offered within the range of £144,702 to £150,489."
And behind the decision was an "independent review" by consultants Penna (how much did that cost?), and, as a result, "the City Mayor has concluded that there is a requirement for a senior officer to lead the officer structure, and now wishes to proceed with recruitment and selection to that post".
The review, the report adds, "included a detailed diagnostic assessment of current arrangements to measure the effectiveness and fit of current responsibilities in the Corporate Management Team and how adaptive they are to the elected mayor model.
"Discussions took place with key stakeholders including the City Mayor and Deputy City Mayor, the Strategic Assistant Mayors, Leader of the Opposition, the former Chief Executive, senior officers and key council partners" the report explains "Continuing to share responsibilities amongst the existing Strategic Directors will stretch the span of responsibilities significantly, considering that the team has reduced from five to three within the last 12 months."
The decision to appoint the new Fat Cat is a slap in the face for everyone affected by the £24.5million cuts announced yesterday – the old, the young, the ill, the disabled and those living in poverty. And the three hundred Council staff set to lose their jobs.
* A protest against Salford Mayor Ian Stewart's appointment of the Fat Cat Head of Paid Service has been called for Wednesday 15th January between 8am and 9:15am outside the Civic Centre on Chorley Road Swinton, before the Full Council meeting that is to discuss the proposal.
"If the Mayor and the councillors are serious about fairness, they will withdraw this proposal" says protest organiser Steve North "In the meantime, please email Salford City Mayor Ian Stewart at citymayor@salford.gov.uk to ask him to withdraw these plans and if you live in the city please contact your local councillors to ask them to oppose it."
Further details on Facebook event page - click here
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