Surrey Heath Petition Demands Probe of Council CEO’s £46,000 Pay Rise

Published on: 23 Aug, 2019
Updated on: 26 Aug, 2019

Surrey Heath Borough Council. Photo – Surrey Advertiser

By Rebecca Curley

local democracy reporter

Residents in Guildford’s neighbouring borough Surrey Heath deserve a “robust, open and transparent” inquiry into a £46,000 pay rise for the council’s chief executive this year, a petitioner has said.

More than 1,000 people have signed a petition about Karen Whelan’s income which rose to £197,000 due to a pay rise and a backdated allowance.

The jump caused such a stir locally that the council’s leader, Richard Brooks, sent a letter to staff and councillors on Friday, August 16, outlining why the remuneration for 2018/19 was so high and offering support for the chief executive. Ms Whelan received a salary, including fees and allowances, of £158,000 for 2018/19, up from £118,000 the year before, according to the council’s draft accounts.

Adding in expenses, benefits in kind and employer’s pension contributions, the remuneration paid to the chief executive for 2018/19 totalled £197,000, compared to £151,000 the year before.

A council statement said the “disproportionate” payment in the 2018/19 draft financial accounts was because of an allowance backdated to October 2016 which was equivalent to £15,000 per annum.

Since the fallout over the remuneration payment, Ms Whelan has requested that the council’s performance and finance scrutiny committee “consider the appointment of an independent investigator to examine the procedure followed” to allow the extra allowance.

But the petitioners want all councillors to be involved in the decision to determine the CEO’s pay and for the independent investigator to be external to the council and not an audit company or someone the council has worked with before.

The petition also calls for the pay increase to be withdrawn pending further investigation and for the recovery of any over-payment.

Peter Simpson, a Camberley resident for more than 20 years, started the petition after discovering the pay increase when he was looking through draft audit financial papers for 2018/19.

He said: “I thought ‘Wow, what a lucky CEO that is to get a pay rise like that’”, adding that the increase does not seem to align with the revenue turnover of the council.

Mr Simpson went on: “I started to look behind the figures and compared it with other boroughs. We are not satisfied with what the council is proposing. The people of Surrey Heath deserve a robust, open and transparent inquiry to bring back the confidence that we have as residents in our councillors.”

Cllr Sashi Mylvaganam, leader of the Liberal Democrats in Surrey Heath, said: “The way the petition has grown fast shows the extreme disquiet of the residents of Surrey Heath, of the process which was adopted by the council to give the pay award.”

The council said it “has acquired a large property portfolio and a significant proportion of the chief executive’s role is now centred around that portfolio on a commercial basis”, and the council’s key priority had been to improve Camberley town centre “for the benefit of the borough”.

In 2018, the previous council leader decided a full review of the senior management structure was needed and this should include consideration of the chief executive’s remuneration, last reviewed in 2004.

In early 2019, an allowance equivalent to £15,000 per annum was approved by the then leader “to recognise the additional work and responsibilities being undertaken by the chief executive”. This was then backdated to October 2016.

The basic salary before fees and allowances for 2019/20 has been set at £123,704, before fees and allowances are added.

On Friday, August 16 a letter was sent to all staff and councillors at Surrey Heath from the council leader Mr Brooks. He wrote: “We need to assure ourselves that this decision was properly made and as such are now undertaking a process review.”

He warned councillors to treat Ms Whelan with the “same fair processes” as she does her own staff, adding: “I know over the past few weeks Karen has endured a large amount of public reaction because of her position. I hope everyone will recognise their responsibility to all our employees, including Karen, who has no right of public reply.”

He said the few weeks have been “tough” and affirmed his thanks for her “dedication to fulfilling her council duties during this time”.