Erewash Borough Council held two extraordinary meetings on Thursday evening, approving the appointment of a new Chief Executive and backing a review that could eventually lead to the creation of town and parish councils in Ilkeston, Kirk Hallam and Long Eaton.
At the first meeting, councillors approved the appointment of Gary Smith as the council’s permanent Chief Executive and Head of Paid Service.
Mr Smith, who has been serving as Interim Chief Executive since February, will take up the role permanently from 1 July on a salary of £129,331 per year.
Councillors also approved changes to the council’s senior management structure, including the creation of two new director-level posts – Director of Place and Director of Communities – and the permanent designation of a Deputy Chief Executive role.
Council reports estimate the changes will cost between £310,000 and £350,000 per year, with a net additional cost of around £230,000 annually after savings from the deletion of an existing director post.
Supporters argued the investment is necessary to help the authority manage increasing workloads, major projects and the significant demands of Local Government Reorganisation (LGR), which could see district and borough councils replaced by larger unitary authorities across Derbyshire.
However, some councillors questioned whether increasing senior management costs is appropriate at a time when many residents are facing financial pressures.
The second extraordinary meeting focused on the future of local representation in Erewash.
Councillors approved the launch of a Community Governance Review, which will ask residents whether they want town or parish councils to be created in currently unparished areas including Ilkeston, Kirk Hallam and Long Eaton.
The review comes as local government reorganisation continues across Derbyshire. If a new unitary authority is created, supporters of town councils argue they could provide communities with a stronger local voice and help ensure decisions affecting Ilkeston, Long Eaton and Kirk Hallam continue to be influenced by local residents.
The review will involve public consultation and will consider whether new councils should be created, what they should be called, the areas they should cover and how they should operate.
No final decisions have been made, and residents will have opportunities to take part in consultation before recommendations are brought back to councillors.
Council documents note that any future town or parish council would have the power to raise a precept through council tax to fund local services and community projects.
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