Stoke-On-Trent City Council are at it again with sky-high salaries for ambiguous bureaucratic positions. After losing their assistant chief executive to ill health, they’re now advertising the post with a bumper salary of £125,000.
Many party leaders at the council question not only the salary, but the need for the role at all. Potteries Alliance leader Peter Kent-Baguley is quoted in The Sentinel:
"I think there should be another look at whether this job is actually needed. There is already a council manager and chief executive and I would have thought he could give the strategic lead and co-ordinate directors. I don't see why we need a second tier of management. This money could go on front-line services."
Stoke Council is no stranger to throwing money away, most recently they’ve started re-branding despite being one of the worst councils in the country. They’ve also thought fit to invest taxpayers’ money in a council anthem - which might be funny if it wasn't so shocking.
This council’s cavalier attitude to spending money is beyond belief. As services decline, the gimmicks just seem to multiply along with the extra management positions.
If Stoke-On-Trent truly have this money to splash then instead of buying surplus bureaucrats and theme tunes they really should consider giving it back to their residents as a tax cut, and letting them decide how they can best spend their own money.