Dorset Council is planning to cut around 300 jobs in an effort to save £12.5 million from its wage bill. At the same time, the council is looking to hire a new chief executive with a salary of £200,000 a year.
The job cuts are part of a wider cost-saving strategy aimed at managing the council’s budget. Officials say they are trying to make the organisation more efficient while ensuring that essential services remain unaffected.
However, the decision to search for a high-paid leader while making large-scale job cuts could spark frustration among the public. Many might see it as unfair that lower-paid employees are losing their jobs while a single executive role is being offered a six-figure salary.
Supporters of the move might argue that a strong leader is needed to guide the council through financial difficulties and make tough decisions. Critics, on the other hand, may view it as a contradiction—especially when so many workers are being let go to save money.
This situation raises concerns about public trust in the council’s financial priorities. It remains to be seen how residents will react to these changes and whether they will feel that the leadership decisions are justified.
hief finance officer Aidan Dunn told councillors that to avoid future problems the council needed to now deliver on both its savings and transformation programmes. He stressed that for the moment the council has sufficient financial reserves and has ear-marked £12million for contingencies in the 2025-26 financial year to give it some wiggle room for unexpected demand for services.
The senior officer said the council also had plans to start building up reserves again, with a proposal to put at least £3m back into the fund during the coming year.
Discussions are continuing at the council as it prepares to introduce new technology, including Artificial Intelligence equipment, to help deal with customers with less staff intervention.