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Duties and Allowances - Councillors and Senior Managers

The Council

North Hertfordshire District Council is run by Councillors who are elected by the local community. Councillors are responsible for making decisions on behalf of the local community about local services and budgets, such as Council Tax. Each Councillor represents a specific area and serves for a period of four years. The work of a councillor may include holding surgeries to help local people, supporting local organisations, campaigning on local issues, and developing links with all parts of the community.

Councillors are not paid a salary or wages, but they are entitled to allowances and expenses to cover some of the costs of carrying out their public duties. All Councillors abide by a code of conduct, part of which requires them to declare any financial interests, gifts, or hospitality that could influence any decisions they make.

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The Leader

The Leader of the Council is Councillor Mrs Lynda Needham. The post of the Leader is elected by all members of the Council at annual Council meetings. The Leader chairs all meetings of the Council’s Cabinet (see below) and leads on policy development and implementation.

Leader of the Council

The Cabinet

The Cabinet is an executive group responsible for the overall business of the council. The Cabinet comprises the Leader of the Council, who is the Chairman, and 7 other members appointed by the Council. Each of the members of the Cabinet has a defined portfolio of responsibilities.

About the Cabinet (279Kb)

• Deputy Leader of the Council and Portfolio Holder for Finance: Councillor Terry Hone
• Portfolio Holder for Policy & Green Issues: Councillor Claire Strong
• Portfolio Holder for Planning & Transport: Councillor Tom Brindley
• Portfolio Holder for Community Engagement & Rural Affairs: Councillor Tricia Cowley
• Portfolio Holder for Housing & Environmental Health: Councillor Bernard Lovewell
• Portfolio Holder for Leisure & E-Government: Councillor Ian Knighton
• Portfolio Holder for Waste & Recycling: Councillor Peter Burt

The decisions of the Cabinet are subject to scrutiny by a different group of Councillors, who meet in overview and scrutiny committees to check and monitor what the Cabinet does. In North Hertfordshire these are the Overview & Scrutiny Committee, Partnerships Scrutiny Sub-Committee, and Finance & Performance Scrutiny Sub-Committee.

Council Staff

Whilst the elected Councillors provide the policies, paid employees (Council Officers) put them into practice. The Council employs approximately 450 staff - full time equivalent of 358 (figures from December 2009) and also provides many services via contractors, voluntary, and other organisations.

The Chief Executive

The current Chief Executive is John Campbell, who was appointed in September 2003. The Chief Executive is the senior officer who leads and takes responsibility for the work of the paid staff of the Council. The role of Chief Executive is a full time appointment. Post holders are selected on merit, against objective criteria, following public advertisement.  They are appointed by the whole Council. As head of the paid service, the Chief Executive works closely with elected Councillors to deliver:

Leadership: working with elected Councillors to ensure strong and visible leadership and direction, encouraging and enabling managers to motivate and inspire their teams

Strategic Direction:  ensuring all staff understand and adhere to the strategic aims of the organisation and follow the direction set by the elected Councillors

Policy Advice: acting as the principal policy adviser to the elected members of the Council to lead the development of workable strategies which will deliver the political objectives set by the Councillors

Partnerships: leading and developing strong partnerships across the local community to achieve improved outcomes and better public services for local people

Operational Management: overseeing financial and performance management, risk management, people management and change management within the Council.

Strategic Directors

The council’s three Strategic Directors are responsible for managing the activities of the Council staff and for advising councillors on the potential implications of political decisions.

By law, senior Council staff are not allowed to participate in any party political activity and are expected to advise and assist all Councillors irrespective of their political affiliation.  They are appointed by the whole Council.

Remuneration of Senior Management Team

The table below provides information about the remuneration of the Chief Executive and Strategic Directors. It also provides information about any additional payments they receive, such as payment for running local elections and car allowances. All managerial staff are subject to annual appraisal, and progression on the scale only happens if satisfactory progress is evidenced.

[* Financial Year 2009/10]

Pension

The Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) covers council employees and some councillors. The LGPS is a contributory scheme; employees contribute 5.5%-7.5% of their own salaries to the scheme. Employers' contributions to the LGPS vary depending upon how much is needed to ensure benefits under the Scheme are properly funded, and are set independently.

These are the banding scales, based on a Full time Salary equivalent. They are index linked and include basic salary and any pensionable payments to which staff are contractually entitled.

Earnings Contribution

The rules governing the pension scheme are contained in regulations made by Parliament. Further information about the scheme can be found on Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS)