News / Politics
Council chief exec’s contract extended to oversee move to committees
Bristol City Council’s chief executive has had his contract extended by six months to oversee the transition from the mayoral model to a committee system.
Councillors unanimously voted in favour of retaining Stephen Peacock until the end of 2024 to avoid having to find a new top officer during the huge upheaval in the way the local authority is run.
His appointment was due to end on June 30 next year, less than two months after the local elections which will mark the big change following the referendum to scrap the position of directly elected mayor and replace it with cross-party decision-making committees.
is needed now More than ever
Peacock is on a £176,000 salary and has been chief exec and head of paid service since being promoted from his previous role as executive director of growth & regeneration last October.
Members formally approved a decision by the selection committee and human resources committee to extend his contract at a full council meeting on September 12.
Bristol City Council’s chief executive has had his contract extended by six months – photo: Betty Woolerton
Tony Dyer, Green councillor for Southville and chairman of the overview & scrutiny management board, told the meeting: “As it stands, we will adopt the new constitution covering the governance of the committee model on May 21, 2024, immediately following a citywide election.
“It is almost inevitable that next year’s election will see a major change in councillor personnel and, let’s be blunt, a considerable number of people sat here today will not be with us as councillors when we adopt that new constitution.
“Regardless of whether you have been a councillor for one term or for three decades, that still constitutes a loss of experience.
“Therefore I second this recommendation to extend the chief executive appointment so we are not conducting a selection process for a chief executive at the same time as embedding in a new governance model in which that chief executive will play a major role.”
Adam Postans is a local democracy reporter for Bristol
Main photo: Bristol City Council
Read next:
- Council criticised for ‘consistently poor’ handling of information requests
- Bristol City Council to reinstate chief executive role
- ‘City Hall needs to pull together and put the city first’
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