Agenda item

To agree the proposals for the recruitment of a new Chief Executive.

48.1          The report of the Borough Solicitor, circulated at Pages No. 56-59, set out proposals for the recruitment of a new Chief Executive following the current Chief Executive’s announcement of his intention to retire. Members were asked to consider the report and agree the proposed way forward.

48.2          The Chief Executive explained that it was not often that a Council needed to change its Chief Executive but since he had announced his intention to retire on 30 June, Tewkesbury Borough Council now had to agree the process it wished to take to do this. He had been appointed in 2009 and since then it had been his honour and privilege to serve on behalf of the Council so there was a degree of sadness for him that this was coming to an end but with that he felt the Council could get a really good Chief Executive to take it forward on its journey. In responding, the Leader of the Council offered his thanks to the Chief Executive on behalf of the Council for the outstanding work he had done during his time with the Council and he felt the authority owed him a huge vote of thanks for everything he had done. The organisation was vastly different now than when he had been appointed and the Chief Executive had gained influence not only within Tewkesbury Borough Council but across Gloucestershire as a whole which had been very helpful. The Chief Executive left the meeting for the remainder of the debate.

48.3          In introducing the report, the Borough Solicitor explained that it set out the proposed process to get the Council to the stage of appointing a new Chief Executive. This was a statutory role which must be appointed by Council but the report suggested the remainder of the work was undertaken by a Chief Executive Appointment Working Group and Committee. The report set out the role of each of those bodies and the intention that all Members would have some interaction with the shortlisted candidates and be able to provide feedback to the Chief Executive Appointment Committee. The Committee would be politically balanced, as set out in the report, to ensure the recommended candidate had cross-party approval. There was a need to agree the process at this evening’s meeting to enable the post to be advertised early in the New Year. A Member questioned whether it was likely the Council would be able to recruit someone by June. In response, the Borough Solicitor felt it was possible but would certainly be tight as it largely depended on the notice period of the successful candidate. The role at Tewkesbury Borough Council was a fantastic opportunity for someone and it was hoped the post would attract some really good candidates so it was worth waiting to get the right person.

48.4          Accordingly, it was

                 RESOLVED           1. That the Council recruits a Chief Executive.

2.   That a Chief Executive Appointment Committee be established with the composition and Terms of Reference as set out in Paragraphs 3.1 and 3.2 of the report.

3.   That a Chief Executive Appointment Working Group be established with the same composition as the Chief Executive Appointment Committee and Terms of Reference as set out in Paragraph 3.3 of the report.

4.   That a sum of £25,000 be vired from the Medium Term Financial Strategy reserve to support the costs of recruitment.