Northumberland council approves plan to appoint new director on £100,000+ salary
Northumberland County Council has approved plans to appoint a new leading officer on a six-figure salary to help deliver key savings targets.
The local authority will now look to recruit a director of business operations to “champion” digital transformation and “optimise service delivery”.
The change is part of the council’s ongoing BEST efficiencies programme, which is required to deliver £60m in savings over the next four years by streamlining services and leveraging technology. This includes millions of pounds in savings agreed as part of the budget last month.
The new role will be Band 16 in the council’s payroll, with the director set to take home Band 16 £100,157 – £109,081. However, a report presented to members stated the ongoing establishment of a business operations centre, which the new officer will lead, would help to save an estimated £1.3m a year.
The council has come under fire in recent years for the number of staff earning above £100,000.
But Cllr Nick Oliver, cabinet member for finance, said: “We have rising demand for our key services, we have a challenging funding environment and we have got some very challenging saving targets.
“This is a key role in delivering on all of those challenges. What we’re trying to do is protect core services and deliver them more efficiently.
“We have a lot of transactional services that are sort of duplicated across different departments.
“This is about doing things more efficiently and getting better value for money for our residents.”
Labour leader Scott Dickinson said: “I’m nervous about another role at that value. However, if it is to replace external consultants, which are very expensive, then my view on it may well change.”
Fellow Labour councillor Caroline Ball added: “I will be abstaining this, because I have not once heard anyone on the doorstep saying we need more directors or more politicians. I don’t think this is the right thing.”
Council leader Glen Sanderson said: “This is something we don’t want to do unless we’re going to see a return. There is because we need that expertise and we need to reduce the amount of consultants working with us in terms of delivering the BEST programme and delivering the efficiencies we have to have.
“We all want Northumberland County Council to be run as a tight ship.”