Pay cut for Lincolnshire County Council’s new top officer

Lincolnshire County Council’s new chief executive will initially be paid less than the current title holder.

The council has confirmed it will introduce the lower initial pay for the chief executive role following a review. The search is still going on for the next holder of the role itself — a job which is the highest-paid local government job in the county.

The new occupant will start at the bottom of the salary range, and could receive an increase every two years.

Minutes for the closed-door meeting where this was decided say it will be in the £204,522 to £230,633 range to compete with similar county councils.

Current chief executive Debbie Barnes, who is retiring after five years, had a salary of £209,997.

Reform leader Sean Matthews, said: “The current chief executive is paid on a single salary point and these arrangements have been in place for over a decade.

“Given the retirement of Debbie Barnes, the Pay Policy Sub-Committee recently decided to change to a pay grade of five incremental points for future office holders.

“This is based on the pay benchmarking data of other county councils, and the new appointee will commence at the bottom of a salary scale (which is less than what the current chief executive is being paid) and incremental increases thereafter will be based on future performance objectives measured every two years.

“The appointment of a new chief executive is subject to approval of a preferred candidate at full council in November.”

Ms Barnes will step down in March after nearly two decades with the authority.

She was awarded an OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours for her work as director of children’s services.

The job application, which has now closed, sought a “visionary leader” with a “proven track record of achievement as an executive director in local government and/or a large private organisation”.