DIANA Terris, chief executive of Warrington Borough Council, for more than five years, is leaving the authority to take up a similar role in Yorkshire.
She is to become chief executive of Labour-controlled Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council.
She said: “As chief executive of Warrington, I am proud to have led significant organisational transformation and delivered real service improvements.
“I am delighted that Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council have offered me the position of chief executive and while it is subject to the usual formalities, am looking forward enormously to taking up my new role.
“I will leave Warrington with a huge sense of pride – it has been a real privilege to work with some fantastic, hard-working and ambitious officers, members and partners and to be able to witness first hand the positive difference we have been able to make for the people and communities of Warrington. I will certainly be heading across the Pennines with some happy memories.”
Leader of the council Terry O’Neill said: “I’d like to extend our congratulations to Diana.
“She has an impressive track record of achievement as chief executive of Warrington Borough Council over the last five years and has decided that the time is right to look for new challenges. I am pleased that she has been offered a great opportunity to become chief executive in Barnsley and I’m sure she will approach her new job with the same professionalism and enthusiasm as she has shown here.
“We know there are many challenges facing local government. We will take a fresh look at how we can put Warrington in the best possible position to be ready for the exciting times ahead. In the meantime, it will be business as usual.”
Town Hall watchers have been predicting that Mrs Terris would not stay at Warrington ever since Labour regained control last May.
A number of other officers appointed during the reign of the Liberal Democrat-Conservative coalition are also believed to be seeking posts elsewhere.
Town Hall chief quits
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Gary Skentelbery
Experienced journalist for more than 40 years. Managing Director of magazine publishing group with three in-house titles and on-line daily newspaper for Warrington. Experienced writer, photographer, PR consultant and media expert having written for local, regional and national newspapers. Specialties: PR, media, social networking, photographer, networking, advertising, sales, media crisis management. Chair of Warrington Healthwatch Director Warrington Chamber of Commerce Patron Tim Parry Johnathan Ball Foundation for Peace. Trustee Warrington Disability Partnership. Former Chairman of Warrington Town FC.
23 Comments
That’s great for Warrington following the several fiascos that have taken place under her tenure. Where is the impressive track record that Councillor O’Neill talks about? He must live in another world from me! The Council have now to be bold and in order to save money they must not seek a replacement. They must take a lead from other similar size Councils who have made the decision not to replace or are certainly considering this. Another Director should have this role added to their job description without any extra pay!! I doubt that our Council will be so bold. They will simply make a replacement at an inflated rate of pay.
Hallelujah
I often wonder why people make glowing tributes to a person who is leaving, if they were that good then you would be doing everything in your power to retain their services. The reality of course is that chief executives of local authorities are ten a penny, but unfortunately paid many hundreds of thousands of pounds. Not sure why a council needs a chief executive when it has a Leader. Warrington to Barnsley, interesting and somewhat desperate. Didn’t Michael Parkinson come from Barnsley, he’s not living there now though. But maybe its most notorious citizen is Arthur Scargill, who I think might still live there. Anyway good luck to the lady in question, I rather think that she might need it.
CTP said “They will simply make a replacement at an inflated rate of pay.” No they won’t!
Now I do beleive in God. Will the people she brought do thew same and follow her.
I work at W.B.C. morale must be at an all time high at this news. My understanding that her salary is now in excess of £200,000 despite essential workers having a pay freeze for years. But did she fall or was she pushed. Glad to see the back of her.
Pity the Lib Dem/Conservatives did’nt do some research before they appointed her.
Pay policy statement 2012/13. The salary of the Chief Executive falls within the range of three incremental points between £148,988 rising to a maximum of £154,125.
Paul Kennedy, Does that includes the pay she gets for elections and other perks for the job. WBC has cut overtime for essential workers. She’s just another money grabber no different to the bankers
Fees paid to a Chief Executive for being the Returning Officer are in addition to their salary. With regards to other perks, the Chief Executive as other WBC employees is entitled to be a member of the pension scheme.
“I will leave Warrington with a huge sense of pride – it has been a real privilege to work with some fantastic, hard-working and ambitious officers, members and partners and to be able to witness first hand the positive difference we have been able to make for the people and communities of Warrington.” We have known for some time Diane Terris like a few others in WBC, was the embodiment of the Peter Principle. (Peter Principle – “In a hierarchically structured administration, people tend to be promoted up to their level of incompetence”). But this statement shows that delusions of grandeur may well have had played no small part in the shambles that was allowed to develop during her term of office, to the detriment of the people of Warrington.
Labour , they had conversations 12 months ago with who they will appoint as the new chief exec. Watch for the name Bernice………..? Labour will just use bully boy tactics to dispose of the officers they do not like or who challenge them which is something these dictators who run labour cannot stand!
Eh… “Town Hall watchers have been predicting that Mrs Terris would not stay at Warrington ever since Labour regained control last May”……. and yet she is leaving to join another Labour controlled Council elsewhere. I must be more sleepy than I thought as that doesn’t seem to make any sense… maybe I am reading it wrong 😉 Not to worry though eh !
The outgoing CEO for Barnsley is leaving (or has left) because he disagreed with the level of cuts being proposed.
Does Clr Kennedy know something that he is not telling us about!
You are right PaP. I used to work at WBC and my old work mates tell me morale is now at an all time high at this news. Having appointed her the Con/Lib alliance seemed to think she could do no wrong, and that’s when all the problems blew up.
Pleased as punch; “Pity the Lib Dem/Conservatives did’nt do some research before they appointed her.” Do you not think that perhaps they did do their research and that Diana Terris along with others were appointed specifically for their skills in flying in the face of public opinion???
Quote; “A number of other officers appointed during the reign of the Liberal Democrat-Conservative coalition are also believed to be seeking posts elsewhere.” Perhaps the most interesting point in the above article!!! No prizes for quessing who is top of the public’s wish list !!!
Surely she is far too busy to be the returning officer. Why else would she receive such a huge salary?
Chief Executive….. I will do her job. I’ll do it for £50,000 a year and I will do a better job and I wouldn’t even have to pack in work to do it.
There’s a challenge!
It would be wrong to think the one “who is top of the public’s wish list !!!” is the only person who should be hung out to dry for what has been a complete shambles, from which ever angle you choose to look. There are others amongst the “number of other officers…seeking posts elsewhere” – more senior too – who most likely hope they can jump ship before they are in the frame, publicly pilloried and take their places on the wish list.
As a junior employee of WBC I am saddened by the news that Diana Terris will be leaving us. I consider her to be an exceptionally talented and capable leader who has made a vast imrovement to Warrington. She is a dignified, intellegent and empathetic lady with admirable leadership qualities. Sadly many are happy to comment based purely on here say and gossip
…and on reports from the Local Government Ombudsman that prove she is none of those things.
How much empathy did she show when she accepted a 9 per cent pay rise while cutting front line jobs?
How did she manage to airbrush out the “an extraordinary and inexcusable act maladministration” and allow “a significant and very serious failure” to go unnoticed and remain concealed (these and other failings made by the Ombudsman were accepted by the Council), from her CV for the Barnsley post?
Dooflick, whilst I agree ‘there are others’ there are certainly two others (in joint place top of the public’s wish list) whose continuation in office will prevent the public’s trust in the council being restored.