Taxpayers to pay city council chief's £250k golden goodbye
THE departure of a senior director at Nottingham City Council will cost taxpayers more than £250,000, the Evening Post can reveal.
Sallyanne Johnson is expected to leave her post as head of adult services in a management restructure.
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Sallyanne Johnson
Ms Johnson, who is on a salary of over £140,000, is only 54 and was not due to retire for another six years.
Negotiations are ongoing but it is anticipated the city council will have to pay at least £250,000 to cover the cost of Ms Johnson taking her pension early.
In addition, she would be entitled to a relatively modest settlement under new council rules which limit pay-outs to about £28,000.
The management reshuffle is the latest in a series at Nottingham City Council, which has now paid out more than £2m to departing senior executives in less than three years:
In April 2007, former chief executive Michael Frater restructured the council's top tiers, removing one corporate director, costing an estimated £1m.
A year later Mr Frater left after 19 months in the job after a fallout with council leader Jon Collins. He received £230,000 and was the third chief executive to go in six years.
In July 2008, deputy chief executive Adrienne Roberts left in a management restructure, with a package worth £500,000, most of it in pension costs.
In October 2008, director of finance Tim Render left in another restructure with a package worth more than £200,000. He was re-employed by the council as a consultant a month later.
The city council refused to disclose details of Ms Johnson's pension payment, or the cost of covering her departure.
A spokesman said plans to restructure the council's management, which includes the departure of Ms Johnson and the abolition of seven other director posts, would ultimately save the authority, £671,000 a year.
"The saving is made annually as opposed to a one-off redundancy payment and therefore does represent value for money in the long-term," he said.
The leader of the Conservative Group, Coun Andrew Price, a member of the council's appointments committee, believes the restructure makes sense.
But he said the action had been delayed because the council had parted company with previous chief executive Mr Frater, who began the shake-up.
Coun Price said: "If Coun Collins wants to take credit for a leaner, more efficient management team, then why did he not do it three years ago? Why has he waited for a financial crisis?"
The city council seeking to save £18.8m in 2010/11. It is expected to cut 300 jobs.
Ravi Subramanian, regional head of local government at Unison, said: "While it is only right that anyone receives their pension entitlements, Unison is alarmed to see yet another senior manager being paid off while hundreds of council staff are under threat of redundancy."
charles.walker@nottinghameveningpost.co.uk
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by The Equaliser, NOTTINGRAD
Sunday, January 10 2010, 7:58PM
“The crowd, and I use the word advisedly as there seems to be a lot of them, in the Council House, seem to have too much money in spite of their protestations to the contrary.
We have to make redundancies, we have to close one thing or another etc, etc.
But from their depleted coffers they fill the pockets of departing dead wood executives with a King's Ransom.
Sums that would enable a prudent person to live well for a decade or so.
Or well into retirement when the very nice 'thank you very much Community Charge Mugs' Council Pension kicks in.
There will be more yet sent packing with their wallets packed with loads of money!
These are never rewards for doing a good job they are simply pay-offs designed to set a precedent so that even when the last rat leaves the sinking ship it will not go without a nice little earner stashed away.
Oh the beauty of local politics!”
by The Equaliser, NOTTINGRAD
Sunday, January 10 2010, 7:46PM
“ONE YEAR OF MS JOHNSON'S SALARY PLUS THE NICE LITTLE PAYOFF IS UNCANNILY CLOSE TO WHAT THE COUNCIL WILL SAVE PER YEAR IF IT CLOSES THE LEISURE CENTRE IN SNEINTON.
HOW THEY LOVE TO TALK IN HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS.
THEY SHOULD SACK A FEW MORE CHIEF EXECUTIVES AS IT SEEMS THEY CAN DO WITHOUT THEM WHEN THEY FEEL THE NEED.”
by Gerry, Notts
Sunday, January 10 2010, 3:08PM
“"We're all queued up and waiting to be heard, we're the silent majority and anyone who disagrees with us is a homosexual-commie-loving hippy.
RED WHITE AND BLUE!
British Patriot, Feeling Patriotic"
ROTFLMAO!! This has to be a wind-up, right? Great troll, mate! Straight off of Usenet. Keep it up, lad, it's the best laugh I've had on this board for quite some time. Good source material for Private Eye's "From the Messageboards" column :o))
Happy New Year from a "homosexual-commie-loving hippy"”
by Doc, Farnborough Road
Saturday, January 09 2010, 8:15AM
“Look up Sallyanne Johnson on Google to check her Qualifications etc.
VERY INTERESTING!!!!!”
by Doc, Farnborough Road
Saturday, January 09 2010, 8:07AM
“And if she gets another overpaid post via her mates will she be expected to repay the taxpayer her lolly bonanza?”
by Doc, Farnborough Road
Saturday, January 09 2010, 8:03AM
“WOULD IT BE POSSIBLE FOR THE PUBLIC TO KNOW JUST WHAT SILLY SALLY DID FOR HER FANTASTIC SALARY?
IT BEGGARS BELIEF THAT A MADE UP JOBCOULD COMMAND SUCH A SALARY AND PAYOFF AT A TIME WHEN THE SUSTAINED MILKING OF THE ECONOMY BY BANKERS AND PUBLIC SERVANTS HAS ALL BUT BANKRUPTED THE COUNTRY.”
by Plonk, Heanor at work
Saturday, January 09 2010, 2:55AM
“Little todger shows his lack of knowledge again.
Blithering idiot, the captain mainwaring and pikey of the forums.”
by Stumpy, The Hollows
Friday, January 08 2010, 10:19PM
“How can they give people with made up qualifications based on minimal training courses, and who you know and committee meetings what amounts to the pay of 10 ordinary jobs just to retire possibly to get another post elsewhere?
The pay this one was ripping off was disgusting enough but to rub our noses in it a quarter of a million is just thrown away with the same ease as banking in an Icelandic Bank!
Time for Revolution!!!
If enough stop paying the Community Charge then there is no way we can all go to Jail!”
by TheEqualiser, NOTTINGRAD
Friday, January 08 2010, 9:43PM
“No matter how you complain they will go on draining the life out of the taxpayer.
They need big money to invest for when the plug is finally pulled on UK Ltd.
Why else do you think that MPs and their like are building housing Portfolios and salting away cash like it is going out of fashion?
Why do you think that Blair and his like are ingratiating themselves with the Armaments Industry and foreign leaders?
It is against the day when we that are out here suddenly find that our livelihood has gone and starvation looms.
Why do you think that we have Political Police Chiefs and a Paramilitary Arm of the Force?
Why do you think the Army has been asked if it would be willing to open fire on Civilians?
There will be no Agriculture. No Manufacture it will all be Finance and then Oblivion.
Except for those that have leached away the Cash and have Property to sell to Foreign Investors..
You have been warned!”
by MadBadger, The Sett
Friday, January 08 2010, 8:19PM
“" 'GORDON Brown was warned he would rob pension funds of nearly pounds sterling12billion when he decided to bring in a tax on private pensions in 1997."
So, 12 billion pounds over, even if that figure brings us up to the present day, 13 years.
These businesses have made far more than that in profit, profit made by their workers, since then. Yet...
"The Chancellor's raid on funds is widely blamed for creating the crisis which has left huge shortfalls in pension pots and forced hundreds of firms to wind up their final salary schemes'."
...these same companies would still rather try to keep on maximising their profits for shareholders (some of which are private pension funds) than protect the pensions of the people who make the money for them.
These companies had a choice.
They chose to axe their decent employee pension schemes so that they could pay out as much as possible to shareholders. Shareholders, some of whom, as I have already said, are private pension funds.
Some of that 12 billion has gone towards increasing the measly amount of Income Support that pensioners used to receive under the Tories, to the now far mopre generous Pension Credit to help the poorest pensioners.
"And all true."
Yes, all because it was in the Daily Telegraph.”