Salary vow as £210k council chief John Foster retires - Pay to be slashed by £50,000

Published: 25 June 2010
by ROISIN GADELRAB

CONTROVERSIAL Islington Town Hall chief executive John Foster has confirmed he will retire from his £210,000 post next year .

Plans are afoot to slash the salary of any incoming chief executive by about £50,000, in the wake of the announcement.

New council leader Labour councillor Catherine West says she has been planning a cut of about £50,000 to the next chief executive’s salary, since the day after the election.

Cllr West said: “We’re not going to waste money employing expensive head-hunters, we’ll be doing it in-house. All salaries are under review.”

Opposition leader Lib Dem councillor Terry Stacy says that while the council could afford Mr Foster’s salary when he was first taken on, he believes they can no longer afford it.

Cllr Stacy said: “Times are tough in local government and Labour councillors need to show residents they understand that the good old days of high spending are over.”

Speaking to the Tribune this week, Mr Foster, who has been in local government for more than 40 years, said he always planned to leave when his contract ended in May 2011.

“I specifically asked for the three-year contract because at the time my family weren’t very keen that I take a chief executive role,” he said. 

“But I was keen to do a job in London. My promise to my family was that I would do three more years. I’ll be 63 next year, I’ll have done over 40 years in local government, 18 of which as a chief executive – I’ve done my share.”

When asked if he believed he was worth his salary, he said: “I do think so. I think I’m good value. Islington’s continued to improve in terms of the external criteria I’ve used since I’ve been here.”

Mr Foster, who has a flat in Islington, is planning to return to live in his family home in Yorkshire when he retires.

But although he has ruled out taking another full-time chief executive role, he is not definitely retiring for good.

For now, he is concentrating on guiding Islington through the tough financial times ahead.

He said: “It’s 11 months away and I want to remain focused on behalf of Islington because we’re entering a difficult period in terms of spending cuts.”

Father-of-five Mr Foster added: “I hope I have made a small contribution to improving local government and the work we do on behalf of residents and citizens.”

Mr Foster was awarded a CBE for services to local government in 2008.