City council to appoint new chief – on salary of £ 145,000

YORK COUNCIL is to appoint a new chief on a salary of more than £ 145,000 a year.

Councillors have been asked to approve the appointment of Ian Floyd to the newly created role of chief operating officer.

He was the only candidate for the job.

Mr Floyd has worked at York Council for more than a decade and has been acting as temporary chief executive, following the departure of former chief executive Mary Weastell after the local elections in 2019.

He was the only candidate interviewed, according to a council report. It warns councillors that if they do not approve him for the job, the council will “expose itself to legal challenge” and costs.

Mr Floyd was interviewed for the job on October 1 by Liberal Democrat councillors Nigel Ayre and Paula Widdowson and Green Party councillor Denise Craghill.

Labour councillor Danny Myers was also due to be on the panel but refused saying he felt more candidates should be considered for the job.

He told the council: “The confirmation of a single internal candidate means that I ( and the Labour group) cannot participate in the appointments process for chief operating officer.”

But trade unions GMB and Unison took part in the interview process, with a spokesperson for each union saying they felt “confident” the correct procedures have been followed.

Councillors will be asked to agree the decision at a full council meeting on Thursday. Ms Weastell took early retirement in March, with a £ 400,000 settlement.

It has since emerged that Ms Weastell was taking York Council and the council leader, Coun Keith Aspden, to an employment tribunal. But she dropped the case after the six- figure payout was agreed.