Six Sutton Council “fat cats” are earning more than £100,000 a year while thousands of householders face the growing threat of wage cuts or unemployment.

The Town Hall Rich List for 2009 shows that chief executive Paul Martin was paid £157,416, well above the annual salary of a cabinet minister.

Three strategic directors were also awarded pay rises of about 7 per cent in 2007-08, despite council tax increasing by 2.9 per cent this month.

The six-figure pay packages at Sutton Council will deepen anger among private sector workers whose earnings have been slashed in the recession.

Maria Fort, policy analyst at the TaxPayers’ Alliance, which obtained the figures, said: “The size of council executives’ pay and perks is staggering, and every year the cost continues to rise.

“With bills rising and services stagnating, in too many town halls there is a culture of rewarding failure. Councils must start tightening their belts – we’re in a recession and many of these rewards are financially unsustainable and morally indefensible.”

Councillor Tim Crowley, Conservative opposition spokesman for finance, said: “Sutton’s Lib Dem council has a poor reputation on executive salaries coupled with sky-high council tax; now we’re in a recession they must think carefully about sending out the right message to hard-pressed taxpayers.”

The local authority has defended the high salaries, arguing they are needed to attract the most talented people to management positions.

Councillor Sean Brennan, leader of Sutton Council, said: “Both the number of senior employees in Sutton and the pay they receive are below the London average and appropriate for a borough of our size.

“In these challenging times it is understandable that the pay of our senior officers comes under scrutiny.

"In both good times and bad, the council provides hundreds of services to more than 180,000 people in Sutton.

“The council is committed to delivering value-for-money services to people in Sutton. To do this, we must also invest in the right people to get the job done.”

Council rich list:

• Paul Martin, chief executive – £157,416, 7.1 per cent increase on 2006-07

• Dr Ian Birnbaum, strategic director for children and young people – £115,079, 7 per cent increase

• Tom Jeffrey, strategic director of environment and leisure – £114,838, 7.1 per cent increase

• Dr Adi Cooper, strategic director of adult social services and housing – £114,745

• Sue Higgins, strategic director of resources – £114,350, 7.1 per cent increase

• Dean Shoesmith, interim joint executive head of human resources – £100,575



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