Today's report by the TaxPayers' Alliance on town hall pay paints a distorted picture.
It castigates local government for paying over 800 council officials more than £100,000 a year, and 14 more than the prime minister's salary of £188,849. Yet its own data shows high public sector salaries are not uncommon.
According to the TaxPayers' Alliance Public Sector Rich List (pdf), published last autumn, 17 executives earned more than £500,000 a year and 66 earned more than £250,000. On average, the 300 highest earners in the public sector received salaries of £237,564.
Adam Crozier, the chief executive of the Royal Mail earned £1.3m in the year to April 2007, while David Higgins, chief executive of the Olympic Delivery Authority, received £631,000.
At £181,956, the average pay of NHS chief executives is higher too. Two NHS trusts - Whipps Cross University Hospital and Royal West Sussex - both paid over £340,000 to their chief executives, the Alliance's figures show.
So the top job in local government pays less than other parts of the public sector. Many chief executives in local government manage budgets bigger than FTSE 100 companies, for a fraction of typical city salaries - a FTSE 100 chief executive typically earns over £700,000, rising to over £3m when bonuses are included.
Still, these figures will certainly fuel unions' claims for higher pay rises for front-line workers. The government wants public sector pay rises to be capped at 2%, but teachers', local government, police and health unions are pressing for more.
Teachers are already threatening to strike over their 2.5% deal and council workers are also unhappy with the 2.2% pay offer from local government employers, while the decision to stagger nurses' and police pay has provoked considerable anger.
But councils are responsible for providing many vital services: protecting children from harm, looking after the elderly, education, providing social housing, collecting our rubbish and much more. According to the latest comprehensive performance assessment figures from the Audit Commission, standards are continuing to improve, with more councils than ever providing excellent services. Is £100,000 really too high a price to pay for good quality services?
