To my absolute disgust and horror, whilst browsing the local news on the YamYam, I came upon a story from the Express and Star[1]  about the top earners at Walsall Council. I was not horrified by the salaries – I think any citizen of Walsall is inured to the customary generosity of their civic fathers to their chief officers – but by the fact that I had clearly been disseminating false information. In this post, where I discussed the fact that the council seems incredibly lax about dishing out huge slabs of dosh, I stated that the Chief Executive of Walsall Council was on a wage of £174,500. I was erroneous in that statement, an oversight for which I can only apologise. It’s a glaring error on my part, and it won’t happen again.

According to the Express & Star[2], the chief executive of Walsall Council, one Paul Sheehan – ‘took home between £190,000 and £199,999’ last year. With customary Express & Star precision, it’s impossible to tell if that was nett or gross – gross I suspect. The thing is, I’ve never heard of the chap. I’d be grateful if someone were to come here and explain what this man does for our borough that makes him worth more than a medical consultant, defence engineer or even a prime minister. Whose life or death does he have power over? What decisions does he make for that tremendous wedge? I certainly hope he’s not the one with keys to the Community Chest that’s caused all that hoohah with the EU…

Meanwhile, there are overstretched agency workers cleaning excrement from the aged and infirm who barely make the minimum wage. Their clients are being denied the time required to show their service users due dignity due to ‘essential cutbacks in Social Care’. I would like to ask those at the council this: since you see fit to defend the enormous salaries of those at the top, why are they so much more important than those workers who attend to the most basic, most essential needs of the vulnerable at the bottom of the social pile? Would any of you change dressings or bags for another human being for the minimum wage? Of course you wouldn’t. You’re all too busy justifying the indefensible.

In other news just spotted in the Express & Star[3], the municipal Golf Course, ostensibly threatened with the chop as a token gesture to show that hard times affect the golf playing demographic too, have been spared. Not just spared, but the prices won’t go up either. Heavens, we can’t have the fuming future Faldos inconvenienced by an increase is price, that would never do. If you’re a housebound golfer then, it’s not all bad news.

Just to recap, Walsall values paper shufflers, is very understanding to golfers, but doesn’t give a shit so your granny had better not take one.