Council executives can now hope to attain millionaire status on the back of public money, a senior union official warned.
John Gibbons, Liverpool branch chairman of public sector union Unison, said executive salaries had seen huge increases in the past two years.
Gibbons said: "If you had asked someone five years ago if it was possible to become a millionaire working in the public sector, they would have just laughed.
"Now the potential for someone to become a millionaire on the back of public money is just phenomenal. Public sector executives were previously regarded as people who couldn't hack it in the private sector. That is no longer the case and there is now more and more money in the public sector."
While executive salaries continue to spiral, the town hall employees represented by Unison won just a 3.5pc pay increase this year, leaving their average salary at £15-£18,000.
David Henshaw, Liverpool's chief executive, was appointed on a salary of £130,000 two years ago. Natural rises and a 5-10pc performance related bonus mean he is now likely to collect at least £150,000-a-year. The situation is similar at other Merseyside authorities, including Mr Henshaw's former employer Knowsley.
A council source said: "When Mr Henshaw left to go to Liverpool, his salary was around £110,000. Now the assistant directors can make that, never mind the chief executive." So what is 'fuelling the flames' of executive salaries in local government?
Liverpool paid PriceWaterhouseCoopers £75,000 to launch a national search for a new chief executive but council leader Mike Storey feels it was money well spent.
Coun. Storey said: "We took the decision to pay high rates to attract the top talent nationwide. Our senior management team is now the best in the country. With a clear management structure and political stability, Liverpool is now attracting the right sort of candidates."
People Not Profit have appealed before for info - we have even written to Liverpool Vision requesting evidence that the people of Liverpool are benefitting from any of this regeneration, so again can anyone send us details of what we have seen in this city that benefits the majority of its inhabitants? Better transport, public toilets, affordable cafes, more community centres, better care facilites?
Check out: http://www.whistleblower.nstemp.com