New Council Chief to get £200,000 a year

From the Northern Echo 15th March 2008

“Old” councillors set up new Chief Executive appointment

Sitting Durham County Councillors have decided to advertise for a £200,000 a year chief executive to run the new Durham County unitary council that comes into being on 1st April next year, despite the fact that there is no guarantee that any of them will be members of this new body. Elections to the new council take place on 1st May this year, just a few weeks away, but the existing county councillors can’t wait.

Heading the committee that will make the appointment is Labour leader Cllr Albert Nugent, who recently survived two “no confidence” votes from his own members.

Cobbler’s apprentice writes: Yet Durham County Council has just lost the services of an excellent chief executive, Mark Lloyd, who was widely regarded as doing a good job at £160,000 a year. Lloyd has now been appointed as the new chief executive for Cambridgeshire, at £200,000 a year. He is rumoured to have left because he would have had in effect to re-apply for his own job. Has DCC been “penny wise pound foolish”? Apart from the salary, the cost of advertising and interviewing will cost many thousands of pounds.