THE chief executive post at Pendle Council is set to be abolished if councillors agree to the proposal at the full council today (Sept 25).

Chief executive Stephen Barnes, who has worked at the council from its inception 40 years ago, would be made redundant.

Earby councillor Morris Horsfield (Cons) said: "It's all about finance. You cut back where you can to save money."

Barnoldswick councillor David Whipp (Lib Dem) said: "The council's financial position is very serious because of government cutbacks. Another £4 million in savings must be found in the next two to three years."

Leader of the council, Cllr Joe Cooney (Cons), added: “We’ve looked at the post of chief executive for several years now and we feel it’s time to re-think the structure of the council at the top of the organisation.

“Stephen has done a brilliant job as chief executive, everyone across the council agrees on that. However, his post was due to be reviewed in April and we’ve taken the opportunity to streamline management and reduce costs."

At a time when other councils are also looking at deleting the post, Pendle did explore the possibility of sharing a chief executive with another council but decided it was not sensible as it would not result in a major saving.

"The council needs to reduce costs of running the council," said Cllr Whipp. "Although it will put more work on the shoulders of the people left, it will save money that could go towards other services being provided by Pendle Council.

"If it's a case of keeping services going or having people sat in town hall, we want to keep the services going."

Cllr Whipp, who is a member of Pendle Council's Restructuring Committee, added: "This has been discussed very thoroughly, but we believe the council can operate as effectively as it has in the past. We want Pendle to punch its weight at a regional level."

Mr Barnes already works part-time, but Cllr Whipp said his redundancy would save thousands of pounds. Many of the senior managers left also work a few days rather than a full week.

"The whole thrust of this is to drive down the costs of senior managers," he added. "We've got a very lean structure at Pendle Council.

"However we won't be able to have a balanced budget just by making Stephen Barnes redundant. It's part of a bigger effort to save more money."