Monday 9 November 2015

Welsh Town Hall Rich List


As reported by several newspapers, the Welsh Town Hall Rich List was published today. The figures for our favourite basket case, Carmarthenshire Council, are based on the 2013 to 2014 financial year and show that the council topped the chart for the highest number of senior staff on over £100,000 per year.
Chief Executive Mark James' over inflated salary for that year also includes some of his ill-gotten pension and libel indemnity payments.

The Western Mail's article on the report can be read here

Click here to access the @WalesOnline article

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Com'on Plaid. You've inherited the highest paid Chief Exec and more people on £100 k than any where else in Wales. We, the electorate, await what you're going to do about it. Budget consultation would be a good start!!!

Anonymous said...

The information is grossly inaccurate. The salary for Mark James may well be correct but the assertion of 23 officers earning in excess of £100k per annumn is wrong!

Anonymous said...

Anon@00:24

Blimey, are there more than 23 officers at CCC pocketing excess of £100k!

The article says “The figures include the value of pensions and expenses - not just pay.”

Anonymous said...

The cost to the tax payer of pension contributions and "expenses" should quite rightly be classified as what it costs to employ these senior managers. They may well not be taking home this amount but whaw so many and at such cost. With such a large highly paid squad ( and boss) Carms should be top of the premier league. As we know of course splashing the cash and getting results are two very different things. Carmarthenshire's performance speaks for itself.

Anonymous said...

Two posts with salaries of £120k have recently been advertised and since Plaid assumed power at County Hall. They like their predecessors are impotent in such matters. They listen to Mark James' spiel about attracting the best candidates etc. Was he missed when he recently went on gardening leave during the Gloucestershire Police investigations. The cemetery is full of indispensable people.

MuppetMan said...

I'm no fact of the council, but expenses are expenses, and ought not to be considered in this exercise. Of course, we should be having a lot more scrutiny around expenses, and only paying out for genuine expense incurred as a function of their role.

I am travelling on buisness today with a colleague, and we work for a charity. We've chosen a hotel that charges £30 per night below the rate we have been budgeted for (saving the charity £60), and despite having a food allocation of £30 each for each day we are away. our claim will be nearer £15. Food will go on the claim, beer will go on our own personal cards.

We deliberately made our travel arrangements as quickly as possible, meaning we've saved around £180 on the price of "on the day" rail tickets.

This is how responsible people treat expenses - and it's high time our public services acted similarly...

Anonymous said...

It is normal practice to add at least 25% to gross salary to take account of national insurance and pension costs. What we don't (yet) know are Mark James's other costs. Remember the Porche? Does he get private health insurance for himself and his family (my guess - yes), does he enjoy free parking, taxis when he doesn't want to drive his car, Plus you have to add his income for being an electoral registration and returning officer.

Believe me, even your best guess of what this guy really " earns" will be way out.

Anonymous said...

Rate Payers Association got the figures wrong i.e. based the CE of Gwynedd on his retirement lump sum and his salary . Apparently there re only 5 in County Hall but 3 Head Teachers in the £120k bracket in CCC Does any one ever check what salaries are paid in Welsh Government ?

Anonymous said...

How is it that the CE is paid more than the prime minister of the country ?