Comments on: What does a Council Chief Executive do?

By: Rose

Rose — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 13:44:44 +0000

An example of what a CEO may do can be seen on this link: http://www.liddellgrainger.org.uk/local/SOUTHWESTONE.html, or, alternatively, at: http://thebristolblogger.wordpress.com/

By: Damian

Damian — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 21:08:29 +0000

Unfortunately the very same CEO high pay questionable performance has been established in the NHS. The local hospital had a completely useless ‘CEO’ but the costs of departure were astronomical; no sure much has changed.
The same is true I understand for Council CEO’s as the Council itself aren’t in an easy position to dismiss them for poor performance and the dismissal costs can be comparable with the high numbers in the private sector.
It’s time for Councillors to canvass on a promise to freeze if not reduce Council Tax.

By: Does Your Local Council CEO Do Enough to Earn More Than the Prime Minister? « Leatherhead Matters

Mon, 31 Mar 2008 06:31:11 +0000

[...] council, Chief Executives are an invention of New Labour. Do you know what they do? If not, read THIS insight from John [...]

By: Simon

Simon — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 23:17:10 +0000

I read your article and then had a look at our council’s website. There are 7500 staff for a population of 250000, they can get interest free loans, relocation packages, pension benefits etc etc. The jobs advertised are all “Guardian” type posts except for a school caretaker (only useful job and worst paid). All the services around here are sub contracted out so there are probably another 7500 or or more workers from private sub contractors on the payroll. I was surprised to find that so many people work for the council who only really have to provide what boils down to a few basic services. One wonders what all these people do all day, not a lot judging by the state of the place. Any CEO worth his salt with such resources at his fingertips should be able to produce a mini utopia. It shows the true calibre of the people in charge. I’d be interested to know how many of these council CEO’s have been head hunted by private firms with no interest in council contracts. IE purely for their management expertise, not their dodgy contacts. None I should think.

By: a-tracy

a-tracy — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 22:38:00 +0000

£125,000 plus the £30,000 pension contribution. plus all the other benefits that go with these positions.

I agree, I’ve often wondered how the buck stops with this person and who ensures they’re held to account. So much delegation both to consultants and other senior executives makes many of them just a ‘photo head in the local papers’.

If a small, medium sized company had to spend so much on external consultants before any decisions could be made the owners would want to know why the senior executives weren’t doing their jobs.

Must warn you though, speaking out like this won’t get you many Christmas cards!

By: Puncheon

Puncheon — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 17:43:59 +0000

An excellent analysis. The concept of a local authority senior administrator pre-dates professional(?) paid Counsillors, and is unecessary now. This is our old friend “comparabilty” back from the 1970’s. In fact there is no comparability, as you say, no bottom line. And think of the hit on the pension funds. This is another public sector scam - all the senior managers connive at the appointment of a CEO on a huge salary on the expectation that theirs will rise accordingly. I noted a glaring omisssion from a booklet delivered to me with my Council tax demand explaining where my money is spent - no itemisation of the Council’s running costs, ie salaries/expenses. You should note too that the evils of the 1974 Heath/Walker local Govt reforms are still alive in my part of the world. I live in an abomination called Cumbria, made up of Cumberland, Westmoreland and part of old Lancashire known as Furness. None of these areas has anything in common with the other and Cumbria has been total mess from day one. A good illustration of what happens when London based civil servants start trying to change things by drawing lines on maps.

By: Rose

Rose — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 16:58:21 +0000

Just look at the pages of your local telephone directory listing all the numbers connected with the undemocratic bureaucracy for which you are all paying (including their gold-plated pensions), and then look at their web-sites. All these departments are given budgets which they are encouraged to spend and then ask for more. They never have to generate any income. The more people they employ and the more they spend, the more successful and productive they feel they are. Any complaint is met with “Well it all comes down to money”, or “Resources are short”, never, “We will see what we can do to do better.”

There also seems to be a two tier system for council work - those duties we expect of them like policing and sweeping the streets or looking after the parks and museums, are pared right down until they are almost not functioning, while the social and racial engineering empire is spared no expense.

Yet surely the best way to get a contented and well-behaved public is to provide safe and pleasant public places, and look after them? Nothing else should be done until this fundamental duty has been discharged.

By: Donitz

Donitz — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 15:04:27 +0000

What does the £2,000 a year my wife and I fund out of previously taxed income exactly provide?

The bins get emptied and, um, struggling on this one.

Oh, yes the neighbours children get to attend a school where nobody ever fails at GCSE and it is impossible to excel and prove yourself as a grade A at A level has become a common achievement.

By: Neil Craig

Neil Craig — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 12:29:18 +0000

Generous incentive performance bonuses for cutting the amount spent, the rate of council tax or the number of staff would also make them more like CEOs.

Since 80% of council spending is covered by the rate support grant any council which was able to achieve 20% efficiency savings would, in theory be able set a zero council tax rate. My suspicion is that, in practice, they would just find the grant cut. An impartial & replicable formula for the grant based on demographics rather than current spending would concentrate minds wonderfully.

By: Little Black Sambo

Little Black Sambo — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 12:25:11 +0000

What was so very wrong with the former system (of town clerks, etc) that we needed this huge bureacracy to take its place? In this unprosperous rural area I am amazed at the number of employees our district council thinks it needs, some of them doing quite unnecessary jobs. And if the CEO doesn’t travel abroad, some of the councillors do, at our expense. One I know has a well paid PA who has accompanied him to meetings in central Europe and elsewhere, which simply cannot have much relevance to the needs of this area. I can’t imagine this system every being dismantled, now that so many people have an interest in keeping it.

By: Stuart Fairney

Stuart Fairney — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 10:35:49 +0000

Well said, indeed the same applies to almost any council job. I’ve recently received the charming “Hampshire Now” magazine explaining where my council tax money is spent. Apart from some really creepy “The leader replies” comments on page 3, it transpires we fund lots of young people to do various sports.

At a time when pensioners are being sent to prison for non-payment of council tax, I cannot help but wonder, if it’s worth jailing very elderly people, so very young people can have some money which makes it slightly more convenient for said youngsters to play hockey?

I think not, and thus would cut the program. Indeed measured against this test, very little council spending is warranted.

Those who support the program (or any other) are surely effectively saying “this is so important, that if granny won’t fund it, she’s off to jail”