Salaries, including cash benefits and pension payments, for Thanet’s top five council officers came to £589,040 in the last financial year (April 2016-March 2017), according to draft accounts published by the authority.
The accounts also show a £82,500 “loss of office” pay off for former chief executive Sue McGonigal after she quit her role in January 2015 following a six-month absence during an investigation into a planning application.
Mrs McGonigal was cleared of any wrongdoing but decided to resign from the post. The compensation was not agreed and paid until the 2016 financial year.
The accounts also reveal top officers’ pay and perks for the year.
Current chief executive Madeline Homer receives £123,173, plus cash benefits of £5,000 and pension contributions of £16,887, taking the annual total to £145,060
Director of Corporate Governance Tim Howes £104,293, plus £4,000 in cash benefits and £13,252 pension contributions taking the total to £121,518
Director of Corporate Resources Tim Willis £97,112, cash benefits £4,000, pension £13,255 equalling £114,367
Director of Community Services Rob Kenyon (pictured) £90,381, cash benefits £4,000, pension £12,441, equalling £106,822
Director of Operational Services Gavin Waite £85,496, cash benefits £4,000, pension £11,777, equalling 101,273
Generous salaries are also paid for three roles within East Kent Services.
In total TDC has 27 staff earning salaries, before extras, between £50,000 and £119,000.
The authority also paid £369,000 in councillor allowances and expenses during the 2016-17 financial year although detailed listing of those allowances has not yet been published.
Thanet council employs 747 full-time and part-time staff.
Wow!
For a council to run efficiently and effectively you do need qualified and intelligent officers, without a doubt. However what Thanet Council have in office is not highly effective officers, officers on those salaries should be able to handle the remit in front of them and the council should be professional. But it is not, and that’s why you need to clear out the top layer of management including chief execs, across the districts and opt for a unitary. The districts would then be run by boards and the power would be distributed to the parishes and also money could be lobbied much more effectively by the unitary from central government. At present we have a shambles of a council run by the crazy party ukip and its individuals who quite frankly are in their own right demoralising the council even further with their lack of knowledge for council procedures, lack of respect inside the chamber, and rule breaking with regards to not following the constitution. They must go at the next election every one of them and start again. But the unitary is the only way forward.
We tried this to some extent years ago with East Kent Housing. We had to pay a packet and it was more than the other members and what did we get out of it? Not a lot. With a unitary form of government we would be no better off than we are now as we , Thanet are always at the bottom of any money to be given out and any help for Thanet comes at the bottom of the list. I agree about the present council and the way it is run. The officers are being paid far more than their jobs allow. Who voted for that I wonder?
No wonder they want to keep the parking charges so high , to pay for their bloody inflated salaries . they must take a pay cut to leave the council withsme kind of budget to play with . TDC must BROKE