Taxpayers fork out close to �1million to pay 13 council workers

TAXPAYERS are forking out up to almost �1million a year on salaries for 13 council workers.

Using the Freedom of Information Act, The Comet has details of Stevenage Borough Council's (SBC) senior managers' salaries which are greater than �50,000 a year.

Thirteen officers earn a collective total of �914,835.

Chief executive Nick Parry earns a salary of between �98,721 and �114,732.

Strategic directors Scott Crudgington, Celia Twomey and Peter Bandy each rake in between �73,584 and �85,521 a year.

The council has refused to name the remaining members of staff who earn more than �50,000 a year, citing the Data Protection Act as a reason.

SBC's solicitor and monitoring officer, its head of finance, head of environmental services, and head of customer services and business improvement all earn somewhere between �54,696 and �63,570.

Five other department heads receive a salary of between �52,338 and �57,852.

When The Comet asked North Herts District Council for the same information, it revealed that the 18 highest paid officers collectively earned between �920,000 and �1,100,000 a year in the last financial year.

Chief executive John Campbell raked in �113,205, strategic director Norma Atlay and strategic director of customer services John Robinson each received a salary of �83,337, and strategic director of planning, housing and enterprise David Scholes earned �75,831.

With regard to Central Beds Council, a spokesman said: "At present the only officer with a salary over �150,000 is the chief executive."

He said the council would publish details of senior employee posts attracting a salary over �50,000 as part of its statement of accounts in June this year.

"With a management restructure underway we do not know how many posts may fit the criteria, so it is premature to publish these before this time," he said.