DARLINGTON council’s chief executive will retire next year, if councillors agree to cost saving measures that would result in a £2.7m reduction to senior management spending since restructures started in 2010.

Ada Burns is expected to step down in May 2018 in a move that will save Darlington Borough Council £464,000 over four years.

Her anticipated retirement was announced as the council published budget proposals in the latest revision to its Medium Term Financial Plan, which covers 2018 to 2022.

The proposals also include details of a £4.4m funding pot that could be used to improve the town and the announcement of a potential council tax increase of 1.99 per cent, with a government sponsored adult social care levy of 3 per cent also planned.

As part of the proposals, a senior management restructure will see the roles of chief executive and director of resources merged into one, with a new managing director role created.

The move would see Ms Burns retire and the current director of resources, Paul Wildsmith, take up the new role, with the restructure resulting in a £2.7m reduction to senior management spending since 2010.

The proposal must be agreed by cabinet members before being put before the full council and a cross-party HR panel for approval.

Darlington Borough Council also announced that street cleaning and community safety are among services that will potentially get a funding boost as a result of the authority building up a fund of £4.4m in recent years, which they say is “a result of prudent financial planning and cost savings”.

The authority say the money could be spent to improve Street Scene – “perhaps through increased street cleaning or grass cutting” – and to support community safety initiatives in a bid to tackle anti-social behaviour.

The council is expected to consult with the public for their views about how the additional fund should be spent over the next four years.

Councillor Bill Dixon, leader of Darlington Borough Council, said: “The budget remains very tight as demand grows and the Government continues to cut local authority funding.

“Due to innovative work by our staff we have a small pot of additional funding that we can use to strengthen some of our service areas above what we currently provide.

“We’re looking to put additional funding into some areas where cutting the level of service has made a big impact on everyday lives, particularly Street Scene and Community Safety.

“I know many will ask why, when we have an extra £4.4m, are we still looking to increase council tax?

“The simple answer is that if we want to keep services running exactly as they do now, we need the increased council tax, otherwise we would have to look at cutting essential services even more.

“The extra £4.4m means that we can identify the areas where the just doing the minimum is having a negative impact on the borough and give them a boost.”

The budget will be discussed at a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, December  12 and, if agreed, it will be subject to consultation until February 2018. Final decisions will be taken by the full council at the end of February 2018.

The full budget proposals and the consultation link are available at  darlington.gov.uk/budget