The Mayor of Greater Lincolnshire has hit back at criticism over the process to appoint a new senior council official on at least £130,000 a year.
Dame Andrea Jenkyns (Reform UK) is looking for a new chief executive for the Greater Lincolnshire Combined County Authority (GLCCA) – and the successful candidate will earn £130,000 per year, plus a £10,000 bonus if all Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are met, writes local democracy reporter Oliver Castle.
Ms Jenkyns heads up the GLCCA – a relatively new body that sits at the head of all the councils in the county – and says a team is needed to deliver its agenda on big issues such as transport.
Ms Jenkyns has accused the county council’s Lincolnshire Conservative group, led by Coun Richard Davies, of having “selective memory” by criticising the move.
She said that the Conservatives voted to support the GLCCA’s appointments panel, “including the salaries”.
But the Lincolnshire Conservatives group has accused Ms Jenkyns of “aggressively inflating bureaucracy and ballooning political office spending”.
Ms Jenkyns hit back and said: “I promised to lead with a sword of common sense and cut waste, and I am doing just that.
“I want to cut through some of the lies and propaganda being put out by the Conservatives and left wing activists.
“We are currently recruiting, we need to recruit the four main positions that are legally bound for a combined authority and local government to operate.
“I chaired an appointments panel to which Conservatives were on this and voted for this unanimously, including the salaries!
“Firstly, the Conservatives have put out this post this week about my advertising a chief executive on £130,000 plus a £10k bonus if the KPIs are met.
“Why did the Conservatives vote for this in the appointments committee then?”
Ms Jenkyns has labelled the Conservative group’s criticism as “astonishing and desperate”.
She went on to say that the role is essential for the GLCCA to be able to operate.
The Greater Lincolnshire Mayor added: “When the combined authority was set up, they didn’t account for a functioning Mayoral office, only for officers to work for the combined authority.
“How can a mayor operate without the basic roles that MPs have, such as admin, and caseworkers to help with constituents needing support?
“Hence why this was added into the budget. Because someone forgot to consider these roles when the combined authority was set up.”
A spokesperson for the Lincolnshire Conservatives said: “Reform UK campaigned on shaking up politics and doing things differently.
“Yet the first visible actions of the Reform mayoralty are to build a large senior management structure, introduce performance bonuses, and double the Mayor’s office budget, all before residents can point to a single improvement delivered. There is a clear contradiction.
“On the one hand, the Reform Mayor says money should be directed to local projects.
“On the other hand, her administration is committing the authority to high, recurring administrative costs at the very start of its life.”
The spokesperson went on to accuse the Greater Lincolnshire Mayor of creating “bigger bureaucracy” and failing to deliver “better outcomes” for residents.
The spokesperson added: “The Reform UK Mayor of the Greater Lincolnshire Combined County Authority (GLCCA), Dame Andrea Jenkyns, is aggressively inflating bureaucracy and ballooning political office spending, even as the supposed benefits of devolution remain nowhere to be seen for residents.”
