Forums Forums Wirral Information Wirral Council Get your Money Tree ready

Yes its that time of year again, when we are called apart to visit our money trees in our gardens,
Just had my Council Tax bill for the coming year, I 'm sorry is the Council having a laugh, is it April the 1st already, how can they justify a rise in the Council Tax, what do we get for our money these days, very little by looking at the state of Wirral over the last year, no streets cleared of litter any more yet Biffa gets millions a year,
Grids blocked and roads flooded, street lighting not working for well over a year in some streets, crappy road repairs, awful pavements to walk on [ then you wonder why people trip and fall, then put in claims]
Alleys fall of waster from fly tripping, street signs missing, road signs left all over the place after work has been carried out,
Adult Social Care that's what Wirral has failed on for years
Now they are looking at doing the Town Hall up and asking what it can be used for, now the Council has closed it and wasting £95 million building new Council offices over in Birkenhead, i had a look at them yesterday and what an eyesore,
So here's an idea re open the Town Hall up and use it, you have had years to repair and fix it, and save the £95 million on the new buildings, hopefully come May we can get rid of Labour once and for all, Christ they should be paying money to us to live here,

Stop being a mug and wake up.
The council leaders are corrupt, get it in your head and wake up ffs.

Couldn't agree more. I like to think I've got some level of "insider knowledge" as I know several people who work(ed) for Wirral Council in different roles and at different levels. Something they've all got in common across all different departments are the stories of wasted cash...you wouldn't believe it if I told you. Unfortunately the people of Wirral vote in Labour at every twist and turn and they claim to not have enough money, yet waste it at every opportunity.

I remember being told about an old IT guy who left the council and was paid a 6 figure salary to go. I laughed it off and didn't believe it until I saw the public record of it and did a double-take. Someone did a freedom of information request for it and it was posted on the web somewhere.

I've had experience working in private sector and 6 figure salaries are usually exceptionally hard to get, reserved for people making massive profits year on year without fail and having huge responsibilities to boot, yet the council splurge 6 figures to get rid of one single person! As Ste said, corrupt to the rotten core.

A quick google search of a FOI request for Wirral Council back in 2011 showed this:

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/requ...t%20Titles%20and%20Sals%2058000.xls.html

They were paying their director of technical services £112,849 PA. It's absolutely laughable (if it wasn't our taxes paying for it).

This was the one I referred to in my last post:

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/wirral_council_departure_circums

David Green, Director of Technical Services (£103,234.60)

David Taylor Smith, Deputy Director of Finance (£68,660.39)

Ian Brand, Head of Asset Management (£68,368)

Geoff Paterson, Head of IT Services (£72,166)

Jim Lester, Head of Cultural Services (£72,166)

Rob Beresford, Head of Regulation (£70,900)

That's 6 men, being paid severance a combined total of £455,494.99. Not far off half a million quid just to get rid of them! It's scandalous.

And this woman (https://johnbrace.com/category/martin-morton/) got paid £48k to leave back in 2014. You could literally write a book on how Wirral Council abuses tax payers money. It's disturbing and disgusting and the people of Wirral suffer.

I dread to think what the figures look like now in terms of salaries and outsourcing and training, along with IT equipment and building costs.

I agree on Council pay, it should top out at around £80,000 but if that happened the work would be contracted out and not only would the execs be paid more, shareholders would get a cut as well

I'd disagree to an extant on severance pay, I think it should be a minimum of three years salary plus three years pension payments all tax free. Why should a worker lose out and often been thrown on the scrapheap because of a lack of ability of top management? Why should the Government get a cut of a compensatory payment?

Not forgetting that severance pay is taxable, in 2013 £100,000 would probably have incurred around £24,000 tax unless it was agreed to be paid over a number of years (a tax fiddle not often allowed to any other than senior management). However the £100,000 might not have been purely severance pay eg it may have had pension elements in it as well.

Councils are chickenfeed compared to industry. Look at Thames Water, a public services provider.....

£14.7Bn pounds in debt
£1.3Bn pounds a year operating revenue (so over 10 years in arrears)
Haven't been meeting their obligations - hence they manage to show a small "operating profit" by not spending on things they are obliged to do.
Still paying dividends to their investors.

Thames Water recovery plan? Borrow more money to pay more in dividends. This will result in increased debt, less ability to meet their obligations and when they eventually go chest-up the public will end up paying that debt. Senior management make a killing, shareholders make a killing all paid for by failure.

How are they allowed to charge for something they are not providing?
How can you pay dividends out of borrowing?
How are they allowed to continue a spiral of borrowing which is clearly beyond the point of no return.
How can you justify a £2M salary plus 40% bonus to the boss of this company?

It sounds like you're dealing with quite a bit of frustration regarding your Council Tax bill and the state of things in Wirral. It's understandable to feel disheartened when you don't see the results you expect for the money you're putting in.

While addressing those issues, have you considered exploring alternative avenues for relaxation and even potential income generation? Games That Pay Instantly to Cash AppGames That Pay Instantly to Cash App offers a diverse selection of games that you can enjoy while also having the opportunity to earn real money. Engaging in such games could provide a welcome distraction from the stress of local government matters.