“'He emphasised that Cornwall is the largest unitary council in England, and said it was "not surprising" the chief executive responsible for a £1.2 billion budget earned more than in smaller authorities, particularly given the challenge of merging separate smaller authorities into one unitary council.'

What about the fact the Cornwall is probably one of the most economically deprived counties in the country and also has one of the lowest average incomes of less than £23,000.

I earn less than this figure and I am told my pay is frozen.

Can we really justify paying someone over £200,000 a year when his main job is to make savings of £110 million?

I can think of a good way to save money - Stop paying lazy, unaccountable managers and chief execs stupid money.

'Devon County Council said Phil Norrey voluntarily reduced his pay by five per cent in January, taking his salary to £149,995, which is lower than the wage on which he was appointed in 2005.'

Maybe it shouldn't have been that high in the first place!

'Torbay Council said Elizabeth Raikes was paid £151,316 a year, and had received no basic pay rise since 2005, beyond the national increase in line with other public servants.'

My heart bleeds I don't know how she is coping!

'A spokesman for Plymouth City Council said: "Salaries of those leading private businesses of this size tend to be much higher."

Well Kevin isn't leading a private business is he? His salary is coming out of our pockets and we have every right to have our say and I think it's safe to say that as Council Tax has doubled over the years and services don't seem to be improving we are wondering - What's in it for us?

I am a Cornwall Council emloyee and I resent working under these people on ridiculous salaries - It simply cannot be justified no matter how hard they try!”

“This is what Kev had to say about it in the news letterhe sends out to Cornwall Council Staff - I don't think he likes people talking about his salary.

'Dear Colleagues

I always return from a period of leave with a keen sense of anticipation to learn about what I had missed when I was away. This time I was disappointed to find that my salary still remained a talking point in the local press! And it has remained in the headlines this week, with reports of an imposed cut to my and senior officers' salaries. The truth is that as part of our savings strategy we need to look at the terms and conditions of staff, including senior staff and my own position, but this needs to be considered properly and consulted on carefully. Personally, I am considering my options and will be talking to the Leader and other members in due course. It is certainly not the case that pay cuts are being imposed on senior staff.'”

“There may be a small concession to assuage the anger of the rate payer, perhaps a 10% wage cut, of course, this will be temporary, they will get it back in other ways or at a later date.
Because the bottom line is, the whole system is often corrupt (and we've seen that happen and what happened?) you can be totally useless, negligent, you can lie and deceive and you will still be well rewarded as long as you toe the party line regardless of which party is in power.

Change can only come from the people and not the government, council, councillor or M.P. as the system is intrinsically corrupt!”

“This is beyond party politics. It was the Lib Dems who, in between the Newqay Airport and Roche business park fiascos, foisted a unitary authority which cost ten times the original estimate and saved us nothing and appointed a CEO whose main residence was in York at a salary more than the Prime Minister. Now the Tories are in charge I can see no sign of a change. They continue to justify these obscene salaries and handouts to people who only have a few years service. And, just as a coincidence these people with overly large payouts walk straight into another job. The whole setup stinks and needs to be looked into. Like those beaurocrats inBrussells they seem to be unaccountable to anyone. Why?”

“A wind of change is blowing through the corridors of power. Pity it has come so late. The establishment of Cornwall Council was foisted on the people of Cornwall, against the wishes of the majority, by an unrepresentative clique of councillors and MP's and a Labour Government in its dying days. The misrepresentation of the cost was incompetent bordering on fraudulent, and has made the current financial crisis much worse than it would have otherwise have been. Our representatives failed us badly and the Council is now more out of touch with voters than ever before. Radical steps are required if any semblance of confidence is to be restored. Serious cut-backs will only be accepted if the top managers get the message that we value the dustmen more highly than we do them.”

“Do any of the commentators or readers think that Kevin Lavery and the other ''public servants'' mentioned actually care what we 'oiks' think of their obscene salaries..
What we really need to know is how we effect a change to stop them exploiting their power.”

“I'm not saying that what they're doing is right, but honestly, culling a few salaries at the top of the food chain, relatively speaking is just a drop in the ocean. There are better places to direct effort if you really want to save money.”

“How can Mr Robertson be disapointed at the comments re Mr Lavery when the whole council needs to be working together?????.........perhaps its becouse its only the lower rungs of the council that are working together?
Apart from the insensitive missives from Mr Lavery and his cronies there doesn¿t seem to much else coming from the higher tiers to help sort things out.
Perhaps they all need to get out and listen to their employees a bit more”

“How can Mr Robertson be disapointed at the comments re Mr Lavery when the whole council needs to be working together?????.........perhaps its becouse its only the lower rungs of the council that are working together?
Apart from the insensitive missives from Mr Lavery and his cronies there doesnt seem to much else coming from the higher tiers to help sort things out.
Perhaps they all need to get out and listen to their employees a bit more”

“:| We used to get concerned about the 'Cambridge Mafia' Max, Ken Clarke's generation, but 'Common Purpose' has now superseded them, and they've got it all down to a fine art. . And they are now so blatant about it! . The story of them trying to charge us all to drive from county to county really takes the biscuit. . . A road fund licence and a fuel tax should be all that is required. . The rest is all about control and them believing they are above the rest of us.”