Have your say with The Bridge Poll
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© 2024 The Bridge Berwick
© 2024 The Bridge Berwick
Is it usual to have 2 Town Clerks / Chief of staff ? Can this not be a job share?
How much extra work is involved in running the council today as opposed to running the Council in the past?
It’s concerning that no one has been elected. This could mean that potentially it could in future be run by friends of friends with the public not having any voice.
Hopefully more people will stand in the forthcoming elections.
It’s nonsense to think we need executives paid at that sort of level for this work when we also have a Town Council who act as a check and balance?Basically needs a competent office manager and well motivated employees doing the hands on work we really need.
I would fact check this before commenting. This isn’t the case. It is actually a poorly created poll. Not sure of the benefit of it.
When you say fact check what exactly do you mean?The Bridge has given approx figures here?The broader point which you seem to have an issue with in your further comments is ,does this represent good value for money for Berwick or would locals rather see less money spent on office/admin staff and more on things like Wardens?In that sense the poll is quite legitimate and the results would support The Bridge’s approach.I’d like to see a more detailed poll on how locals view priorities facing Berwick.It cannot be easy being on BTC especially following the chaos left behind by the last Town Clerk but surely it’s better to know how people feel about these issues?In terms of difficulties persuading people to volunteer one would hope that with recent departures there is a more welcoming atmosphere than the one I encountered along with other residents trying to express their views at a meeting.
Your poll is fundamentally flawed as there are no plans to employ 2 staff on £50k each. We are recruiting a new Chief Officer at that rate which is the market rate for the post as the previous one left. We recently recruited an Operations Manager at a rate much lower than that to replace an officer who left.
As councillors we all hope that residents will put themselves forward for election but when they don’t, we co opt local people who express a desire to voluntarily use their time to help Betwick
Thanks Councillor Brown
Don’t you welcome the opportunity to clarify how Town Council chooses to spend our money?
The figure is clearly ‘c £100k’ made up of both salaries, ‘generous holidays and NEST pension payments’ according to adverts, relocation package for the new Chief Officer and other expenses such as equipment, travel and sundry items associated with office-working.
Please provide the exact figures as readers/the people who pay for it all will be interested to read these.
In August’s Town Council meeting Council rejected the idea proposed by a resident of shared services for Berwick with another town or parish council. Perhaps this was a missed opportunity to create some goodwill by putting to residents how they wish their Precept money to be spent.
The poll is broadly accurate?Surely it’s helpful to establish what residents actually think about key issues even if the results may not be palatable?
Is broadly accurate journalistic speech for inaccurate?
But hey let’s not fact get in the way of things!
It was a snap poll?Would you be happy if she did a more robust poll?Why don’t you show her how to do it properly 😉
What a waste of money
This poll is a terrible piece of non journalism. Having done a small amount of research myself, you have massively overstated the salaries. There will only be one executive who is paid at the going market rate. You make no mention of how the staffing levels are actually just being maintained but slightly restructured.
There is a clear mandate set out on the town councils website and they are governed by national legislation.
I think this is just a sensationalist, nonsensical poll created to spark some form of outcry. I think you should actually be ashamed of your poor journalism. Where are your checks and balances? Will you actually amend this to be factually correct?
Thanks Paul
Good to have your input. I would be interested to see the details you have found on this; both jobs (Operations Manager and Chief Officer) have salaries in the public domain along with the package details. So it would be interesting to have your figures.
On ‘the staffing levels are actually just being maintained but slightly restructured’; the ‘staffing levels’ you refer to were introduced under the previous regime at Berwick Town Council which started in 2017.
For comparison, these are the salary bill/precept income rises over the last ten years:
Staff costs /Precept:
2024 £227,851/346,963 – salaries here includes severance payments as part of the ‘restructuring’ you refer to/Precept was subject to a 27% rise this financial year.
2023 £189,390/269,581
2022 £134,839/261,841
2021 £140,378/265,656
2020 £136172/ 261,879
2019 £131,925/256,020
2018 £85,408/256,020
2017 £64,013/201,331
2016 £98,523/218,200
2015 £79,959/ 218,220
2014/15 staff comprised: temporary, part-time Town Clerk, a full-time Assistant to the Clerk and a part-time Finance Officer, the equivalent of just under two full-time employees.
The current Staff Chart is located here: https://www.berwick-tc.gov.uk/widescope/resources/admin/3-berwick-town-council-staff-chart.pdf
It would be interesting, wouldn’t it, to hear residents’ ie tax-payers perceptions of the look of the town for the extra money they are legally obliged to hand over?
The other aspect of the current recruitment process for a Chief Officer is that, assuming the CO is in place at the start of the year (2025) which would be early for someone at that level to become available, there are only four full months until elections for new Town Councillors in May 2025, councillors who may not wish to have this same salary burden on the town.
Feel free to add the salary figures you have obtained in a further post.
Best wishes,
Wendy Robertson, Editor
Morning Wendy,
Looking at the adverts and granted it has been a long time since I did my maths A-Level but last time I looked 35 + 50 did not equate to 100.
You offer staffing levels in 2015 but make no reference to work level increase since then as work has been adopted from NCC. As far as I can see BTC is responsible for all play spaces, all refuse bins, all public benches and all street furniture ie planters throughout the town. I happen to believe that the town is looking great as far as in control of BTC and NCC. Absentee landlords that allow the decline of town centre properties are an issue but out with of local government control.
With an increased workload goes increased staffing levels. A large amount of the precept was previously been paid to NCC to fund their staff to perform the work now undertaken by BTC both on the ground and in the office as anyone with an small amount of knowledge in business knows you have a massive amount at work going on in the background, especially ensuring legislation is followed.
In an ideal world the council would be elected and the people would have the ability to elect councillors to represent their best interests. However it is done voluntarily and there is a lack of people who are willing to commit to it but will sit online and criticise. Anyone who is willing to give up their time and be a co-opted councillor should have the full support of the people.
A factually correct and balanced poll would be far more useful than this nonsense you have produced. I would also say to any who sit on online forums criticising the council join and see the work that they do for themselves.
In the absence of candidates for election, BTC has to co-opt volunteers to serve and those volunteers need to take decisions in order for the council to function. This includes financial decisions. Clearly this is not ideal but I hope that The Bridge will be doing all it can to encourage local residents to put themselves forward for election next time there is a vacancy?
Yes indeed, Moira. There are already plans in progress to inform and encourage.
Let me know if there is any particular aspect you would like covered – campaigning, process information etc.
Thanks for your support of your community newsletter. Wendy