Five Harrogate Borough Council officers earning over £100,000 a year have been named in an annual rich list by the TaxPayers’ Alliance.
The pressure group, which claims to speak for ‘ordinary taxpayers fed up with government waste’, published its Town Hall Rich List 2021 report this morning.
It includes details of every council officer in the UK earning over six figures in 2019/20.
Chief executive Wallace Sampson topped the list for Harrogate Borough Council, earning over £125,000.
Paula Lorimer, who runs the Harrogate Convention Centre for the council, was second, earning over £120,000.
The final figure includes salary, pension payments and expenses.
The Harrogate officers in the report are:
- Wallace Sampson, chief executive: £125,571.
- Paula Lorimer, director of Harrogate Convention Centre: £120,012.
- Rachel Bowles, director of corporate affairs: £107,763.
- Trevor Watson, director of economy and culture: £106,976.
- Paul Campbell, director of community: £105,314.
The Stray Ferret revealed yesterday that Mr Campbell was paid £55,065 in compensation after he left the role suddenly in March last year.
The report found that at least 2,802 people employed by local authorities in 2019-20 each received total remuneration packages in excess of £100,000.
The average number of people paid over the sum per local authority is seven.
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The report links officer salaries with council tax rises. From this month taxpayers in Harrogate will see a 3% increase in council tax compared with last year.
John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said:
“While councils were plunged into tackling the pandemic, many staff will have more than earned their keep, but households have nevertheless struggled with enormous and unpopular council tax rises.”
A Harrogate Borough Council spokesman said:
“We have always published our senior salaries and our pay policy on our website and have nothing to hide.
“These salaries are in line with those paid by comparable local authorities and are regularly reviewed.”
