£102 million pounds of Unaudited Accounts & A £17k Pay Rise for the Chief Executive.

The Chief Executive of Shepway District Council (SDC), Mr. Alistair Stewart (pictured) earned – minus extras such as pensions payments – the following between 2010/11 – 2015/16, £706,088.

The change in his pay between 14/15 – 15/16 is a 15% rise; which means a weekly rise of £342 a week. Or an annual rise of £17,815. This means his pay rise was more than what 24.4% of the working population earn in Shepway, in a year.

In 2010/11 former Cllr Lynne Beaumont said about nine members of staff earning nearly a million pounds. “ This is an awful lot of money.”

In 2017 there is a conspicuous silence from the opposition Leader Cllr Ian Meyers (pictured) about Mr Stewart’s £17,815 pay rise. Has he got nothing to say? His fellow UKIP, SDC Cllr Susie “Hardnut” Govett, who raised her voice heavenly had plenty to say over the £320 dinner at Rocksalt. Mr Stewart and others had

Nor has Cllr Meyers who sits on the Audit & Governance Committee [Link] , which signs off the accounts raised his voice about the fact that the Oct 2016  Annual Audit letter  page 3(pdf link) from Grant Thornton (SDC’s Bean Counters) states:

We are currently unable to certify that we have completed the audit of the accounts (2015/16) of Shepway District Council as we have not yet completed work in respect of objections received.

The position as of May 19th 2017 is the same, Grant Thornton have not yet completed work on the objections received, so the accounts remain not fully signed off or unaudited for 2015/16.

Surely, as the voice of the UKIP opposition and a Member of the Audit & Governance Committee, it is Cllr Meyers duty to discover why the accounts for 2015/16 have not been fully signed off after nine months. While the accounts remain in limbo, and Cllr Meyers is in full knowledge that they accounts are in limbo, his conspicuous silence remains a mystery to us at the Shepwayvox Team, after all, we are talking about £102 million pounds of taxpayers money.

Cllr Meyers though should not be singled out.

Cllr David Drury Monk (pictured) his cabinet and full council would have to approve this pay rise. For what was Mr Stewart given a £17,815 pay rise for? Cutting jobs, doing business with a convicted criminal what exactly.

As the elected Leader of SDC Cllr David Drury Monk is responsible for the accounts and taxpayers money. He too like Cllr Meyers should be concerned that the books have not been fully signed off, after all we are talking about £102 million pounds of taxpayers money, see page 19 of SDC’s Accounts 2015-16

Cllr David Owen who is Chairman of the Audit & Governance Committee and the newly appointed Chairman of the Council – a man going places! He has to know that the accounts have not been fully signed off, we hope he is not asleep at the wheel and will nudge the auditor Grant Thornton, to respond to the objections received nine months ago.

Finally what’s the Chief Executive, Alistair Stewart with his £134,492 salary and £17,815 pay rise going to do about the accounts not being fully signed off?

To state the facts frankly is not to despair the future nor indict the past. The prudent heir takes careful inventory of his legacies and gives a faithful accounting to those whom he owes an obligation of trust – J.F.Kennedy.

We ask our CEO, Alistair Stewart, Cllr Meyers, Cllr Monk and Owen to fulfill this obligation of trust they owe to the people of Shepway and see that the Accounts are fully signed of as soon as possible.

The Shepwayvox Team.