Council Managing Director £6,000+ Pay Rise Whilst Locals Wrestle Yet Another Council Tax Hike....

Hartlepool Civic Centre

A 'smack in the face' to already hard pressed locals facing a crippling April 2025 Council Tax bill as it emerges the Councils top officer trousered a £6k pay increase according to official reports....

4th April 2025

Hartlepool Borough Council’s full financial accounts have just dropped into the public domain, and the numbers are said to not only be raising eyebrows—but tempers....

At the heart of the controversy is Hartlepool Borough Councils Managing Director Denise McGuckin, whose pay packet has ballooned once more.

Last year, McGuckin reportedly took home a tidy £156,902 in basic salary, bolstered by £19,454 in her ever fattening pension contributions purse. Fast forward to the most recent financial year, and now been revealed she’s pocketing £162,375 in basic salary, with pension contributions creeping up to £20,135. That’s a £5,473 jump in base pay and an overall increase of over £6,000 when you factor in the pension boost.

The number of locals visiting Hartlepool's FoodBank is reportedly 'soaring' (Pic Source Alamy)

Meanwhile, Hartlepool’s residents—many of whom are grappling with obscene levels of poverty & deprivation—are now being asked to dig deeper into their pockets to fund a council tax increase despite the local council which in 2023 was declared an authority of no public confidence receiving nearly ten million pounds more in government grant funding this year..

The increase to her already 'bulging' pay packet might not sound like much to someone pulling in six figures, but in a town where deprivation is a daily reality, every penny counts. And it’s not the end of the story either—, despite the council receiving a near ten million pounds boost to its coffers from the government, council finance chiefs are already said to be warning of a £16.5 million pound budget gap for 2025-26, with claims council taxes will have to be raised by the maximum levels for the next five years just to deal with the ballooning deficits the failing local council is running up. That’s a looming threat of even more financial strain for residents who are already stretched thin.

There's mounting calls for Hartlepool Borough Councils Senior Management to be restructured once more, deleting the role of Managing Director Altogether....

Now, let’s zoom out and look at the bigger picture. McGuckin isn’t the only senior officer with a hefty paycheck. The council’s financials reveal seven senior officers—including McGuckin—collectively cost Hartlepool taxpayers £943,186 in the latest year. That’s right—nearly a million pounds for just seven people at the top, in a town where seven of its council wards rank amongst the most deprived in England. Critics are calling it “runaway” senior officer pay, and it’s hard to argue otherwise when you stack those salaries against the stark reality on the ground.

Hartlepool's long been battered by economic decline—high unemployment, low wages, and a reliance on public services that are perpetually underfunded. Yet, whilst locals struggle to heat their homes or put food on the table, the council’s leadership appears to be thriving.

The optics are abysmal. McGuckin’s pay rise alone could cover the council tax bills of dozens of Band A households for a year. And for what? The council likes to tout its efficiency—back in 2020, they restructured the senior leadership team, axing the Chief Executive role in favour of McGuckin’s Managing Director position, promising annual savings of £56,000. But if those savings are real, they’re clearly not trickling down to local residents in the form of increased council services. Instead, the council’s top brass appear to be insulated from the financial pressures they’re so quick to impose on everyone else. Just months ago, its claimed finance chiefs admitted the Hartlpeool Borough Council faces “a difficult financial picture,” citing rising costs in children’s social care, inflation, and staff pay awards. Yet, somehow, there’s always room in the budget for a generous bump at the top.

This isn’t just about numbers—it’s about fairness. Hartlepool’s deprivation isn’t a secret. The town’s challenges—poverty, poor health outcomes, and crumbling infrastructure—have been well-documented. Middlesbrough, just nine miles away, might hold the grim title of England’s most impoverished area, but Hartlepool isn’t far behind it. Residents are furious, and rightly so. Social media is buzzing with accusations of a council leadership that's vastly “out of touch” with the people they serve, even claims of 'infighting' within the councils senior management. One local summed it up perfectly: “They’re living in a different world whilst we’re stuck in a pressure cooker with no release valve.”

Defenders of the pay rise may argue that high salaries are necessary to attract and retain talent. The council’s own 2020-21 Pay Policy Statement claimed its salary bands offer “a robust and competitive pay strategy” to keep “high calibre staff.” But at what cost? When the gap between the council’s elite and its residents grows this wide, it’s fair to ask whether that “calibre” is delivering value for money—or just piling on the resentment.

The £943,186 spent on seven senior officers could fund major frontline services, shore up social care, or ease the tax burden on struggling families. Instead, it’s a symbol of a system that seems to be prioritising its own over the people it’s meant to serve.

The council’s leadership simply can’t keep asking residents to tighten their belts while they loosen their own purse strings. McGuckin’s £6,000+ pay bump isn’t just a number—it’s a slap in the face to a town fighting to survive. With another council tax hike likely to be coming in April 2026 and deprivation levels showing no sign of easing, it’s time for some tough questions.

Who’s really paying the price for Hartlepool’s “robust” financial strategy?

Hint: it’s not the ones cashing the big checks.