Call for council boss to take a wage cut
2:00pm Friday 3rd September 2010 in News
A FORMER Conservative councillor has challenged Bolton Council chief executive Sean Harriss to take a pay cut — because he earns more than the Prime Minister.
Cllr Stuart Lever, who left the Tory Party just after this year’s election and now sits as an Independent Conservative councillor, is calling for local authority leader, Cllr Cliff Morris, to ask whether Mr Harriss would take a pay cut.
He tabled the question at Wednesday’s full council meeting.
Although Cllr Lever did not mention Mr Harriss by name, he is the highest paid member of staff at Bolton Council, earning around £165,000 according to the 2010 Town Hall Rich List, which was compiled by the Taxpayers’ Alliance.
As Prime Minister, David Cameron is paid £142,500, which includes his MPs salary of £65,738.
But Cllr Morris hit back at Cllr Lever’s demands, saying because the two jobs were so different he would be unwilling to ask a member of staff to work on a reduced salary.
He added: “The jobs are completely different and the officer in question does not have two houses like David Cameron and does not rent out his house in London, again like David Cameron does.”
Criticising the fact that Cllr Lever sits on no other committees other than the full council and the Area Forum for the Astley Bridge ward he represents, Cllr Morris said: “The £923 you get for each meeting you attend isn’t bad.”
After the meeting, Cllr Lever stressed his decision to ask the question was not politically driven. He said: “It is not about me getting personal with the officer concerned, I just do not believe that during this period of cuts that one man should be earning what is effectively £500 per day, if you exclude weekends.
“Cllr Morris had a go at me for my attendance but if I am not on any committees then there is absolutely nothing I can do.”
Liberal Democrat deputy leader Cllr David Wilkinson added: “I think it is fair to say the chief executive puts the hours in for the money that he earns.”
