The offices of Lichfield District Council. Pic: Lichfield District Council

Costs of a new senior management structure at Lichfield District Council could drop by £100,000 after plans were changed.

A consultation over the proposed alterations saw criticism that the original restructure was “not radical enough”.

As a result the council will now look to work with a chief executive and deputy, two directors and eight heads of service, expected to cost £776,845 a year.

The previous proposals would have have seen 16 management level staff earn a total of £878,945.

A report to be debated by the council’s Cabinet next week said: “The vast majority of consultees welcomed the review of the structure and felt it was necessary in order to enable greater transformation and deliver a truly ‘one council’ approach.

“One key message emerged from the one-to-one consultations with 50% of respondents expressing a strong view that the proposed three director and 12 head of service structure was not radical enough to deliver the transformation desired.

“Primarily, this was on the basis that a significant number of employees would be ‘slotted in’ to roles and thus the organisation would get more of the same with the same people in different roles, therefore failing to secure any fundamental change in either the focus of the proposed senior managerial roles or the overall approach.”

The costs of an additional fourth tier of management will see the total wage bill for management come in at £1,156,845 – down from the £1,218,845 anticipated in the original proposals.

The new-look structure would see average salaries of:

  • Chief executive – 1 x £98.845
  • Directors – 2 x £80,250
  • Assistant CEO – 1 x £57,500
  • Head of service – 8 x £57,500
  • Fourth tier management posts – 10 x £38,000

The new proposals will be debated by Lichfield District Council’s Cabinet on May 19 before going to full council.

Founder of Lichfield Live and editor of the site.