Bernstein’s pay tops £200,000
THE chief executive of Manchester City Council saw his annual earnings breach the £200,000 mark for the first time last year.
According to unaudited accounts for the year to March 31, which became available this week, one person on the council’s payroll earned between £200,000 and £210,000.
The authority confirmed this was chief executive Sir Howard Bernstein, one of a small band of council chiefs earning more than the prime minister Gordon Brown who is on £192,000.
The information was released as the chief executive of the Audit Commission Steve Bundred – who earns £212,000 – called for a public sector pay freeze across the board to help the government cut costs.
Coucillor Bernard Priest, executive member for finance and human resources at Manchester City Council, said: “The chief executive of Manchester City Council is a public official who has the responsibility for the education, social services, roads, housing, parks and leisure facilities for more than 450,000 people in Manchester. Such a high level of responsibility requires a commensurate salary.”
Some 432 council employees, including school staff, now earn more than £50,000 – up by 11% on last year. Thirteen are now earning more than £100,000, up from 11.
The annual figures show the city council ended the financial year nursing an accounting deficit of £218m. But the authority stressed that the accounts have been skewed by the transfer of housing stock to social landlords, wiping these property values from its balance sheet.
Without this charge the authority said its income and expenditure account would show a surplus of £12.2m for the year to March, although this represents a sharp drop from last year’s £64.1m.
Economic turmoil in the world’s stock markets also hit the council’s pension investments causing the actuarial value of the fund’s deficit to more than double from £146m to £398m. This increase dented the authority’s balance sheet leaving it with a net worth of £1.1bn, down 21% on last year.
Mr Priest said: “The financial changes in the council’s reserves are down to spending on planned projects for the city, which have either been completed or are in progress. Our pension figures are accounting figures which are affected by a number of complex factors and it is quite normal for them to increase or decrease each year.
“In terms of our current account we manage our funds very effciently, which is why for the tenth year running we have had a very low increase in our council tax rates.”
The authority continued to profit from its investments in private companies and joint ventures. Its 25% stake in National Car Parks Manchester yielded a dividend worth £1.6m, but this payment shrank 23% compared to the previous year reflecting a 17% drop in profits at the car parking business.
And the council earned £14.3m from its 55% stake in Manchester Airport Group, up 4.3% on last time.
