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Pay packets at county hall
Ged Fitzgerald, Chief executive Lancashire County Council
Lancashire’s council boss pocketed a bumper £250,000 pay packet last year, the Evening Post can exclusively reveal today.
Ged Fitzgerald broke the quarter of a million pound barrier, becoming one of the highest paid local authority chief executives in the country.
His total remuneration included a £194,655 salary, pension contributions totalling £34,246 and a one-off payment of £5,260 for his role as returning officer during this year’s election.
Mr Fitzgerald was also paid £19,855 in expenses, which included £19,492 to cover the costs of relocating from Sunderland.
His pay is more than double the advertised £112,000 salary when his predecessor Chris Trinick took the job 10 years ago.
A recent pay review at county hall saw 4,000 staff have their wages cut.
It comes weeks after County Hall finance chiefs predicted savings in the region of £22.9m, although remained tight-lipped over where the axe might fall, and as unions ballot members over changes to pay and conditions.
New rules, which came into force in April, force councils to reveal the pay, bonuses and perks of senior staff members earning above £150,000 a year, in a bid by the Government to ease public anger over local authority “fat cats”.
Lancashire County Council’s accounts show that in 2009/10 Mr Fitzgerald’s total remuneration stood at £254,376.
Today, one union chief said it was too much. Carol Lukey, Lancashire branch secretary of Unison, said: “I do think it’s an exorbitant amount of money, but the county council will probably argue it’s market forces that put it at that level.
“Our members are facing pay cuts, cuts in terms and conditions and cuts in their expenses with the loss of the essential car users, so certainly it will sit badly.”
The last survey of senior council pay by the Taxpayers’ Alliance, covering the 2008/09 financial year, showed only three other council officers enjoy a higher total remuneration than Mr Fitzgerald.
Meanwhile, the total amount of salary, allowances and pension contributions paid out to LCC’s other eight senior officers stood at £1.1m last year.
Seven council officers, including Mr Fitzgerald, have total remuneration packages which exceed the Prime Minister’s £142,500 salary.
Helen Denton, the executive director for children and young people, was paid £151,741, while, Richard Jones the executive director for adult and community services was paid a total of £151,686.
The payout for the executive director for environment stood at £163,862, although this included a month of “handover” when both the current holder of the post, Jo Turton, and her predecessor were being paid.
The accounts reveal the county’s councillors received almost £1.4m in allowances.
Council leader Geoff Driver said: “The salaries of senior officers reflect the scale of the challenge we ask them to undertake in running the fourth largest council in the country with a budget of almost £2bn.
“In fact, the pay of all chief officers has been frozen for the past two years and again for at least the next year.
“Our leadership team has been responsible for providing better value for money for people in Lancashire than ever before this year by allowing the council to freeze council tax and save £21m while providing the same high quality services.”
The basic salary of LCC’s chief executive has increased from £150,000 in 2002 to £194,655 in April 2008.
Mr Fitzgerald, the former chief executive of Sunderland Council, replaced Chris Trinick in June 2008.
He was unavailable for comment as he is on holiday.
A County Hall spokesman said relocation covered legal fees, furniture removal and the cost of temporary accommodation.
For more on this story, see Monday’s Lancashire Evening Post.
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Comments
There are 27 comments to this article
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Travelling Man
Thursday, July 22, 2010 at 08:29 PMSeems to me that having to work with Cllr Driver and his cronies makes this fair pay! And some of the items seem tenuous - for example he will only move once, the elections are only every four years so the LEP has maximimised his salary. Can I ask what the CEO of johson press got paid last year and what is their turnover - after all its just as fair as publishing this story?
Preston lass
Thursday, July 22, 2010 at 01:17 AMI would imagine the 2 hour lunches are taken in the employees' own time, and would mean starting early or working late to balance this.
Haven
Tuesday, July 20, 2010 at 04:28 PMPending Moderation
Haven
Tuesday, July 20, 2010 at 04:27 PMPending Moderation
Haven
Tuesday, July 20, 2010 at 08:33 AMPending Moderation
Haven
Tuesday, July 20, 2010 at 08:32 AMPending Moderation
Clayton
Tuesday, July 20, 2010 at 08:18 AMDisgraceful!
jonh
Tuesday, July 20, 2010 at 07:05 AM"county council will probably argue it’s market forces that put it at that level." Of course it is. Only the terminally stupid will think otherwise. What bothers me is that in theory he could get far more in the private sector, so one must assume that we have got some total failure in charge in LCC. Oh well, rather a lot of public sector workers are lazy and work shy (so someone who works for the public sector told me - she gets p**ed off with carrying lazy, unionised colleagues who think nothing of 2 hour lunches and keeping phones off hooks) so if the man at the top is no good, he fits the organisation perfectly.
Frenchwoody
Monday, July 19, 2010 at 11:52 PMIf LCC staff levels and services are cut back this means that the responsibilities of the senior managers will be reduced. Will their pay be cut pro rata to take account of their reduced role? No? Sorry to have asked!
Preston lass
Monday, July 19, 2010 at 11:06 PMThe one off payment of £5260 for being the returning officer during the election should not have been paid, it should have been part of his job, and over a certain salary level, overtime is not paid. Pension contributions of £34,246 - is this the employer's contribution, equating 18 per cent of his salary? Surely not? And the £19,000 relocation expenses - is this a fixed amount, or did someone work out was it actually cost him to move? On the other hand, knowing the LEP's record on not always getting it right, are there any errors in the figures provided in this report?
Crag
Monday, July 19, 2010 at 10:59 PMNorthern Cauliflower obviously thinks he's Stephen Hawking... strange then that in this story he argues for unlimited pay for Ged Fitzgerald, yet in another of today's stories he argues AGAINST a 5% pay rise for the public sector. Now firstly, no-one I know is arguing FOR a 5% public sector pay rise, which means that this clown must be stood in front of his mirror arguing with himself; and secondly, if you're so well educated my friend, why can you not sustain a fairly simple train of thought across two separate arguments in one day? Is your brain too big for your head maybe?
Northern Cauliflower
Monday, July 19, 2010 at 08:06 PMHaven. "should gives the game away?" Doesn't make grammatical sense. "Ovefpaid?" I guess you mean overpaid. And it's Northern not Nortern. But moving on - I work in the real world, not local government, and the caluculations are just plain simple maths if you took the time to work it out. I have nothing to gain by defending the council bosses. I've had to take a pay cut myself. However I'd rather have a job with a reduction in salary rather than have 100% of nothing which is the alternative. Rather than strive to earn the big bucks mentioned in the article a lot of people choose to criticise and moan instead as it is easier to do so. If Mr Fitzgerald is good at his job and can command such a salary I say good luck to him.
Lancashire1
Monday, July 19, 2010 at 07:45 PMWhat a joke!!!! My husband has worked on the LCC since leaving school 30+ years ago and has just taken a £2000 a year pay cut!!!! £2000 may not be a lot to Mr Fitzgerald but when you earn a pitance to start with a £2000 pay cut is a lot! I think it maybe worth this gentleman carrying out a few "In touch" days within the many departments in LCC not just in the warmth of County hall but also on the outside perhaps one day when it is pouring down and lets see how he likes working out in the rain. Mr Fitzgerald was also paid £19,855 in expenses, which included £19,492 to cover the costs of relocating from Sunderland - WHAT A JOKE
Haven
Monday, July 19, 2010 at 07:30 PMNortern Cauliflower. First of all your silly and peevish comment about unrealistic views from the uneducated should gives the game away for you Your specious arguments and slanted calculations are the line of defence usually constructed by the people who are being criticised. Which county hall department do you get ovefpaid in?
Northern Cauliflower
Monday, July 19, 2010 at 07:09 PMQuite right Diesel10. Yet more unrealistic views here from the uneducated. You will find that comparable positions in the private sector will be paid much more than this. If you are looking to recruit someone with sufficeint experience, knowledge and skills you have to pay the market rate. You won't attract the right person for the job like this by offering them £25k a year and an instruction to go out and care about people. The increase in salary from £150k in 2002 to £195k in 2008 equates to 3.79% per annum, not an unreasonable inflation rate over that period. Are you suggesting that the job be offered down the local JobCentre instead? It would be the like the lunatics running the asylum.
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