Top earners in East Sussex County Council should face paycuts

The blame for this falls squarely on the shoulders of the councillors who allow this daylight squandering of hard earned tax payers’ money.

Trying lamely to explain it away, the council’s spokesman says running an £800 million budget is complex. It isn’t. No sales have to be made or revenue earned. Money comes in whatever happens, even in the face of a pandemic! The business itself is the provision of services which have been established over decades. There’s nothing complex about spending other people’s money. Whereas other people’s jobs are at risk theirs never is, no matter what.

I suspect this well worn explanation comes from the remuneration consultants who, it would not surprise me, the councillors have employed to provide them the umbrella justifying their decision to make these absurd payments. The consultants would have merely benchmarked their recommendations against other councils thus ratcheting pay up all over the country.

I suggest the council terminate the present agreements at the earliest opportunity and re-offer them at a third of their present levels. I think they would be overwhelmed by the number and quality of applications, specially in the present circumstances.

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