THE leader of Bolton Council has dismissed calls by the Conservative party in Bury that the two local authorities could share a chief executive to save money.

The Tory group within Bury Council have submitted a motion, which will be debated next Wednesday, asking whether it would be possible for the council’s top job to be shared with a neighbouring authority.

Sean Harriss, the chief executive at Bolton Council, is leaving the authority in March to take up the same role in the London borough of Lambeth, while his counterpart at Bury Council Mike Kelly is set to retire in the same month, aged 65.

Negotiations are underway for Bolton Council to share its environmental services department with Wigan Council, aimed at saving £3 million in Bolton’s budget.

But Cllr Cliff Morris, the Labour leader of Bolton Council, said they would not consider sharing a chief executive with Bury.

A discussion on whether the two authorities could share their legal services fell through, he told The Bolton News, because they ‘turned their face’ away.

He said: “At the end of the day it’s like everything else.

“The chief executive is in charge of a budget of £600 million, and is the responsible officer for many things.

“People have looked at these proposals in the past and realised it is not as easy as they think, and I want someone who will take the priorities for Bolton forward.

“They are different authorities with different priorities and problems.”

The role of chief executive at Bolton Council is currently being advertised with a salary of £160,000, while Mr Kelly took home an annual pay packet of £147,000.

Cllr Iain Gartside, the leader of the Conservatives at Bury Council, said the authority could also consider scrapping the role of chief executive entirely and delegating its responsibilities to other senior leaders, or offer the job on a reduced salary.

That way, he argues, more money could be allocated to frontline services, while other councils across the country already share chief executives.

He said "We feel that Mike Kelly served the town very well, especially in terms of the regeneration of the town centre, and it would be a priority to keep that on track.

"But the council has more savings that need to be made to get the deficit paid off, and this is something that would help with that.

"We are putting forward several options, and we are calling on a cross-party committee to be established to look at the options and decide on the best one.

"The chief executive role at Bolton Council is about to become vacant, so it is an option that should be considered."