SO now we know.
Nick Hodgson was paid £219,000 to leave his post as chief executive at Derbyshire County Council.
The big secret is finally out in the open.
It is nothing short of disgraceful that taxpayers have had to wait over a year before learning how much of their cash was used to oust the long-serving officer.
And we only know about it because the council had no choice but to publish its annual accounts.
Previous requests for the figure – both from the Derby Telegraph and members of the public – were bluntly refused.
When Labour took control of the council in May last year, it vowed to make the authority more "open".
That promise lasted just two weeks.
The party's refusal to reveal Mr Hodgson's payout – and the reasons for his sudden departure – made a mockery of the pledge it made to voters.
Leader Anne Western said a confidentiality agreement struck between the council and Mr Hodgson prevented her from releasing the information.
But why did Labour allow this clause to form part of the remuneration package if it was committed to running a council that was honest with people?
The story does not end here. Whilst we know now how much public money was used to get rid of Mr Hodgson, we still do not know why and one suspects we never will.
This is equally unacceptable. How can we judge whether the sum was justified when we are not being told why he was asked to go?
At a time when £157 million of budget cuts are affecting thousands of vulnerable across Derbyshire, it could be argued no payout sum could be justified.
