£13k cut for Sandwell Council chief's job

The salary of the next chief executive of Sandwell Council will be cut by more than £13,000, the Express & Star can reveal.

Council leader Darren Cooper today said he was cutting the salary from £152,174 to £139,000 after it was revealed last week that the borough's former top boss had left her position with immediate effect. He will also be freezing the pay of senior officers for the next two years in a bid to help make savings.

The council is looking at making around £65million worth of cuts over the next four years.

On Thursday the Express & Star revealed Dr Allison Fraser had left the council three year ahead of her retirement age.

It is understood that she will receive an undisclosed six figure pay-off before she is eligible to claim her pension in three years' time.

Dr Fraser said she was leaving the council to "pursue new challenges" after being at the helm for four years.

Councillor Cooper said he will be holding interviews for an interim chief executive on Wednesday and the successful candidate would be paid 10 per cent less than Dr Fraser. He said today: "It is still a substantial amount of money.

"There's a lot of people out there who have lost their jobs or are in the process of losing their jobs and they are hitting us hard left, right and centre in terms of Government cuts. My view is that that is a reasonable salary by anyone's standards."

The previous chief executive's salary was £10,000 higher than that of the Prime Minister.

In June public annual accounts for Sandwell Council showed some senior officers were earning more than £100,000.

In the education department 138 staff commanded more than £50,000 in 2008/09, with the top earner on £100,000-£104,000.

This rose to 184 staff last year, with the top earner on £110,000-£114,999.

Councillor Cooper has already announced a "root and branch" review of the council's management structure, with view a to "cutting from the top down".

By Lisa Wright