Last week Lisa, my editor, published the outcome of a Freedom of Information request made to Cheshire East revealing that of 15 senior managers appointed in 2013 only four remain in office.
Three of them left the Council having accepted voluntary redundancy costing tax payers nearly half a million pounds.
First to accept voluntary redundancy was Paul Bradshaw with a severance package of £78,388 having held the position of Head of Organisational Development for just 15 months.
At 9pm on the day of publication my editor received a call from an irate member of the Council's Communication Team. This was followed by a 'rebuttal' from Council Leader Rachel Bailey who stated that 'yet again' Cheshire East had been portrayed in a negative light for 'no good cause.'
Leader Bailey went on to say: 'You refer to a whole host of staff who have very appropriately moved on in their careers after working for the council over a three year period.'
I can't help wondering why staff members 'who have very appropriately moved on' were offered any redundancy pay at all?
Apparently, doling out almost £500K to three officers, employed over such a short period, was perfectly acceptable to Councillor Bailey.
Even more bizarre was her claim that 'Local government is a fast-moving and dynamic and exciting career and changes over a three year period are not uncommon.'
That being the case why would their contracts of employment not reflect that rather than reward them for leaving?
How anyone can consider these pay-offs to be a sensible use of taxpayer's money defies explanation. A £78K payday for just 15 month's work takes some beating. Clearly when it comes to cuts CEC are following the line of least resistance hitting those least able to fight back.
Should Councillor Bailey disagree, and she has every right to do so, I suggest we run a poll asking readers for their opinion. Maybe I'm wrong...maybe taxpayers are at one with Leader Bailey's priorities and perfectly satisfied their money is used in this way?
Maybe not...
The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of alderleyedge.com.
Comments
Here's what readers have had to say so far. Why not add your thoughts below.
Answers could be on a scale from 1 to 5, where 1 = "Completely Satisfied" and 5 = "Call the Cops!"
Personally, I would vote 5 as I believe that they are evidently misappropriating our money. And to add insult to injury, Cllr Bailey is taking us for fools!