MEET THE DOUBLEDIPPERS

 While the people of Christchurch are doing it hard, Sideshow Bob and several of his councillors are 
picking up even more money on top of already extravagant salary packages. 

Christchurch City Holdings Limited  (CCHL) has just released its 2012 Annual  Report. It reveals that , in a city struggling to regain its feet, Sideshow Bob and three councillors are continuing to  prosper  at the expense of the good people of Christchurch.

Despite the fact  that they are all on unacceptably extravagant  six-figure salary packages, the four are pocketing even  more money for sitting on the board of Christchurch City Holdings Ltd.

Tim Carter picked up an additional $39, 356 while Parker pocketed another $37, 691. Corbett and Wells took home another $37, 554.

Sideshow recently accepted a $2,500 pay rise which put him on a basic salary of $171,00. Combined with his CCHL directors fees he is on nearly $210,00 a year - plus expenses. And he still wanted the people of Christchurch to pay for his wife's travel expenses.

He told The Press in July that  he didn't sit around  thinking about his income. Obviously Bob doesn't have to worry about paying for the groceries.

A former councillor,  Gail Sheriff, said in 2010 that her work as a director of CCHL  took no more than five to ten hours a month.

There were ten meetings in the year ended 30 June 2012.  Sideshow managed to attend just six of them.

Former  mayoral  candidate  Jim Anderton wanted to bring a halt to  this particular gravy train.

He intended to  request all councillors to forgo directorship fees for sitting on council-controlled organisations, because they are already well paid.  He wanted the money saved then diverted to struggling community groups.

In response, Sue Wells fatuously claimed that   her  CCHL 'job' was 'outside my duties as a councillor.'  ignoring the obvious  fact she's only a director because she's a councillor.  Or was she claiming she is doing a  second job on council time - like the work she used to do for Canterbury Television, for instance.

Hopefully those radio commercials that Barry Corbett occasionally voices aren't being done on council time..