BOURNEMOUTH councillors will be told the borough can do without a chief executive as they are asked to agree a £390,000 pay-off to boss Tony Williams.

An extraordinary meeting of the whole council has been scheduled for Friday, March 31, after the shock news that the borough’s top officer was leaving.

Mr Williams, who had just returned from four months off sick, was placed on leave after proposals were drawn up to make his job redundant.

As revealed in the Daily Echo yesterday, the report to the extraordinary meeting confirms the make-up of Mr Williams’ pay-off.

He will receive £63,000 in statutory redundancy pay, six months’ pay in lieu of notice costing £85,000 and early release of his pension, costing £246,000.

Proposals to transfer his responsibilities to his deputy and create a joint management team with the Borough of Poole will take the costs to £477,000, but the council says the measures will save £253,000 a year.

Some councillors have asked why the proposal emerged so suddenly – and before a government decision on whether there should be one ‘super-council’ covering Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch.

The report says Bournemouth and Poole have already agreed to share a corporate services director, a chief finance officer and a head of adult social care.

The report by corporate services director Julian Osgathorpe says: “Bournemouth Borough Council has the opportunity to pursue a number of changes to its senior leadership team in order to both reduce the costs of the senior officer structure but also align itself with the likely changes that may be required for local government.”

Mr Williams’ deputy, Jane Portman, is to be made “head of paid service” and the report notes that “it is not required as a matter of law to have a post of chief executive”.