Council Officials

A lot has been blogged about the snout in the trough MPs and their expenses in particular have attracted attention. Most of us however, are much more concerned about the rise in our Council Tax. I live in Leicestershire which by most statistics would qualify as a 'cinderella' county. That means that by southern standards it is pretty cheap to live here. When I left the army one of the reasons that I settled in Leicestershire was the cost of housing.

Fast forward twenty five years and housing in Leicestershire is still comparatively cheap and it is obvious why. We are at least a hundred miles from the coast and there is really nothing really attractive about Leicestershire. Actually that is incorrect because there are many really nice parts of Leicestershire but I must admit they pale in comparison with some of the other parts of our country.

I was therefore staggered when a request from a 'Freedom of Information' group revealed that nine officials from Leicestershire County Council were earning in excess of £100,000 per annum and the Chairman is earning in excess of £150,000 per annum. That is utterly ridiculous!

I worked for this local authority for ten years and I have recently seen their performance affecting the appearance of my local town so much that it now appears almost squalid. We have a world renowned university which means that 15000 students descend on us every year and scatter rubbish (Shopping trolleys, traffic signs, fast food rappers etc etc) all over the town. This rubbish remains on the ground for all to see and yet the local authority trumpets the university but refuses to clean up the town or clear the brooks or make the traffic flow.

Personally I believe that no local government official is worth £100,000 per annum. They are not worth more than MPs. One of these guys got a pay rise in excess of ten per cent last year! We as council tax payers are being ripped off in Leicestershire. This is real snout in the trough stuff. In Leicestershire the cost of living is nothing like it is down south but the Council officials are paid as if they live in Surrey!

Just think nine people are costing us a million pounds a year even before we think about anything else. I could not believe it until I visited the web sites advertising county council jobs. An 'Asset Manager' will cost us £50000 as will an "Employee Service Centre Manager". Further down the line an "Information Management Officer" or a "Team Leader Energy Officer" will cost us £30000 and wait for it an "AD for Access and Personalising Services" will cost us £72000!!

This is our money guys! We are paying for this! These people are ripping us off and nobody seems to care. Get interested in local politics folks because we are being
cheated out of our Council Tax!