Councils could share chief exec

Cannock Chase and Stafford councils may share a chief executive in future under drastic plans being considered for the two authorities.

The option of having a single top council officer for the two authorities is to be one of the issues in high-level talks aimed at making major savings on budgets over the next three years.

On Monday, Simon Baker took up a post as joint chief executive for Staffordshire Moorlands District Council and neighbouring High Peak Borough Council in Derbyshire as part of efforts to save £1 million in operating costs.

Similar steps are now being looked at as one of the proposals on the table for the two districts.

In Cannock Chase, district council chief executive Stephen Brown currently earns £106,050 after being given a £10,000 rise last year. It makes his wage more than five times the average wage in the district of £19,000. Stafford Borough Council, which needs to find £1m in savings for 2009-2010 and 2010-2011, has suspended the process of finding a £102,000-a-year replacement for its chief executive David Rawlings while the talks are under way on the ³back office² merger.