Bumper pay rise plans: Tell your councillor how you feel

Reaction to a proposal by Ceredigion Chief Executive Eifion Evans to bump senior staff salaries by £10,000 has been met with anger from residents.

Ceredigion County Council will meet on Thursday to discuss plans to bolster the pay of senior staff at the local authority as part of a restructure of the senior management team.

Chief Executive Eifion Evans, in a report due to be put before a full council meeting on 17 July, said that existing pay scales for senior staff are “no longer fit for purpose”, while hailing the success of the council leadership during the ‘Gold Command’ period where senior officers made decisions without councillor input throughout, and in the aftermath of, the coronavirus pandemic.

A Cambrian News article revealing the plans drew strong opposition online, with readers in disbelief at the proposal.

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Mr Evans’ restructuring plan will see one corporate director and the corporate lead officer for schools roles removed from the current structure with responsibilities dispersed among a new concentrated pyramid of three new Executive Corporate Lead Officer roles, underneath Mr Evans and a new second in command Executive Corporate Director role.

While those roles will come with salary increases to a maximum of £123,221 a year under the proposals, the loss of two senior staff positions will see the overall cost in wages of the leadership structure fall by £120,000 a year to £1.83m.

In the latest set of council accounts for 2023/24, corporate directors in Ceredigion earned between £108,000 and £111,000.

The pay bumps for the most senior positions will see a pay rise of around £10,000 a year.

Mr Evans’ pay – which currently stands at £142,141 a year but is set to be boosted by 3.2 per cent for the current year if unions can agree on the terms of a pay offer – will not be affected by the changes.

Every councillor will be in attendance at Thursday’s meeting and the Cambrian News encourages residents to get in touch with their local councillor beforehand to make their feelings known.

Below is a list and contact details of every councillor on Ceredigion County Council.

Ceredigion County Council

Your councillors

Aberaeron and Aberarth

Elizabeth Evans

Mobile: 07775 638625

Bumper pay rise plans: Tell your councillor how you feel

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Gethin Davies

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