THE 'pay peanuts and you get monkeys' argument is inclined to come to the fore in the debate about public sector executive salaries.

A public sector organisation such as Durham County Council has huge and expensive responsibilities and, therefore, requires high quality managers. We accept that they do not come cheaply.

That said, there will be legitimate public concern that Durham County Council is able to save £175,000 a year with the removal of a single management post, as revealed in tomorrow's Northern Echo.

Taxpayers are justified in questioning whether seven senior managers, costing more than £1.3m, represents value for money.

We appreciate that £3.65m has been saved in management costs in the county since the 2009 reorganisation, which abolished district councils.

But at a time of enforced and painful austerity, salaries at the top tier of local authorities remain an area open to public scrutiny because ordinary people find them extraordinary.

And let us not forget that the higher the salary, the higher the redundancy payout.