WARRINGTON Borough Council will be asked on Monday to approve the appointment of former North West Development Agency boss Steven Broomhead as interim chief executive
The council’s chief officer employment committee is recommending that Mr Broomhead be appointed for six months on a salary band of £154,125 – rounded down to take account of the fact that he will be working a four-day week.
If approved by the full council, Mr Broomhead would take up his duties on Tuesday.
The appointment is intended to give the council time to make a permanent appointment following the departure of current chief executive Diana Terris.
Mr Broomhead was chief executive at Warrington for five years from 1997 before moving to the NWDA.
The chief officer employment committee’s decision has raised a few eyebrows, but council solicitor Tim Date points out that the appointment is strictly time limited and that a more protracted appointment process would involve the council in significant cost with no guarantee of an appropriate candidate being identified.
Cllr Paul Kennedy (pictured), leader of the Conservative group on the council – and a member of the chief officer appointment committee – has indicated he may be asking a number of questions when the matter comes before the full council.
He stresses that he is not opposed to the appointment but feels more details may quell further speculation and rumour.
It is understood he may ask if Mr Broomhead – as a former council employee – is drawing a council pension and if he will receive any additional benefits, such as fees for also taking on the roles of Returning Officer and Electoral Registration Officer.
He also would like council leader Terry O’Neill to outline the Labour administration’s thinking behind the appointment of an interim chief executive and, in particular, the recruitment of Mr Broomhead.
Cllr Kennedy also wants to know if Mr Broomhead would be eligible to apply for the post of chief executive when his period as interim chief executive ends and why he will be appointed for only four days a week.
Council faces quiz over top job
55 Comments
Share.
About Author
Gary Skentelbery
Experienced journalist for more than 40 years. Managing Director of magazine publishing group with three in-house titles and on-line daily newspaper for Warrington. Experienced writer, photographer, PR consultant and media expert having written for local, regional and national newspapers. Specialties: PR, media, social networking, photographer, networking, advertising, sales, media crisis management. Chair of Warrington Healthwatch Director Warrington Chamber of Commerce Patron Tim Parry Johnathan Ball Foundation for Peace. Trustee Warrington Disability Partnership. Former Chairman of Warrington Town FC.
5 Comments
I think those are great questions to be asking about this appointment.
Good luck with your questions but I can’t see you getting sensible answers. This is all too cosy for my liking. Mr Broomhead was a very competent CE when he served before and it could be argued that he would again be a very competent appointment full time following, in my view, a very incompetent outgoing CE. Will the Labour Group explain to us the thinking behind their “strategy”? What will happen to the staff that the outgoing CE brought with her?
We have to hope when Mr Broomhead's brief interim tenure comes to and end, that the Council carries out a proper risk assessment this time when it invites applications for the permanent CEO position….or is that wishful thinking?
Great questions – but isn’t he part of the senior appointments panel that approved this anyway?
Do we really need a new CEO? It really would be financially advantageous to us all, if WBC took leaf from neighbouring Local Authorities and scrapped this position all together, made one of the other Directors head up the Council and all at no extra cost. That really would be trail blazing but not something our lioacl representatives would countenance!!!