Council manager cuts 'could save £1.75m annually'
BBCA council is looking to "reshape and reduce" its senior leadership team in a move it says could cut costs by £1.75m each year.
Westmorland and Furness Council has launched a consultation into the proposals which, if approved, could see a new structure in place by the summer.
The proposal has been put forward to "ensure the council remains financially sustainable," it told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).
Earlier this week, it was reported 21 members of staff at the authority earn more than £100,000 a year.
In a statement released to the LDRS, the council said it was looking at a restructure as it had been three years since it was formed in a shake-up of authorities in Cumbria.
Seven county and district councils were replaced with two unitary authorities.
"A consultation on a reshape and reduction of our senior leadership team began in March with the aim of a new structure being implemented from July 2026," a spokesperson said.
"The budget setting meeting in February laid out the council's financial challenges, with the need to bring in a range of cost-saving and revenue-raising plans to offset a substantial loss in core funding brought about by a change in government funding priorities.
"Other staff-related actions to reduce costs include a voluntary redundancy scheme and continued re-shaping of services."
According to the TaxPayers' Alliance, the authority had staff earning salaries ranging from just over £102,500 up to former chief executive Sam Plum, who earned £182,391 a year before retiring in December.
Meanwhile, Kendal's County Hall could be sold having not been used by the council since September 2024
Its functions, including customer services, registrations and ceremonies, democratic services and public meetings, were moved to other locations due to the building's poor condition.
A report written by the council's director of resources, David Hodgkinson, outlines officers have declared it to be "surplus to operational requirements".