The officer credited with turning Craven’s ailing finances around left the council this week.

Susan Goodhall, Craven District Council’s Section 151 officer – with overall responsibility for the authority’s finances – left on Wednesday after giving a week’s notice.

Mrs Goodhall, who was also the council’s executive director for resources, has always been employed as a consultant on £600-a-day, working three days a week, and not as a council employee.

Her departure comes less than two years after she started working for the council in September 2008 and with eight months left to run on an 18-month agreement made with the council in August last year.

Chief executive Paul Shevlin said this week that her departure from the council was mutual and followed discussions involving the role of the Section 151 officer.

It also comes in the same week that it was revealed she had expressed her opposition in e-mails sent to the council leader last year of a proposed merger with Harrogate Borough Council.

The e-mails, sent to Coun Chris Knowles-Fitton (Cons), expressed her concern about the fragile state of the council’s finances and her opposition to a possible merger with the Harrogate council.

Any possible merger with Harrogate has since been ruled out, although a joint working relationship with Harrogate and Selby councils is close to being finalised.

Mr Shevlin categorically ruled out any connection between Mrs Goodhall’s departure and the e-mail correspondence and praised Mrs Goodhall for what she had achieved for the council.

He said Mrs Goodhall’s decision to leave had been mutual and had come after discussion over her role as Section 151 officer – the council officer with overall control of the authority’s finances and responsible for signing off its accounts.

“The council always intended that the Section 151 officer should be an employee of the council,” said Mr Shevlin. “Discussions started with Sue and from these it was mutually agreed that she would leave.”

Mrs Goodhall started working for the council in September 2008, brought in by the then interim chief executive, Brian Dinsdale.

In August 2009 she was given the role of executive director for resources and Section 151 officer for a period of 18 months.

She has been credited with overhauling the council’s financial services, introducing budgetary processes and procedures and establishing the financial position of the authority.

At the last budget outrun, the council announced a saving of around 22 per cent of net costs over an 18-month period.

Mrs Goodhall said: “I have really enjoyed working with the authority and leave confident that the proper financial systems are in place to take the council forward.”

Coun Knowles-Fitton said he wanted to thank Mrs Goodhall for putting the council “back on track” and wished her the best of luck.

“Sue joined us during a very difficult time,” he said. “Thanks to her experience, hard work and dedication she has been instrumental in turning the council’s finances around.

“Her legacy for Craven is a lean authority which is living within its means, steadily building up its reserves and is better positioned than many to tackle the challenges local authorities face.”

The council’s new Section 151 officer is current strategic manager for financial services, Joanna Miller.

The council is yet to appoint a new executive director for resources.