GLASGOW City Council leader Frank McAveety has refused to give full backing to the local authority’s first female chief executive.
The Sunday Herald has learned that McAveety’s allies criticised Annemarie O’Donnell at a private Labour meeting last week over a perceived lack of detail on budget cuts.
Asked if he had “full confidence” in her, the leader told the Sunday Herald: “Given the scale of the unprecedented budget cuts we are facing, everyone in the council leadership – councillors and senior officials – is working together to meet these challenges and protect vital services in Glasgow.”
Glasgow City Council, which has had to make huge spending cuts in recent years, is expecting further bad news this week when Finance Secretary John Swinney announces his budget.
Local authority leaders are privately expecting a five per cent cut that will severely impact on frontline services.
McAveety, who is enjoying his second stint as leader after succeeding Gordon Matheson, is said to be worried about the political impact of the cuts in the run-up to the next council elections.
A council insider, speaking on condition of anonymity, said three of McAveety’s allies criticised the chief executive at a recent Labour group meeting.
Picture: leader McAveety
The frustration was borne out of a belief that O’Donnell had not come with good enough ideas on how to redesign services and make up the looming budget shortfall.
It is understood her presentations to Labour councillors have not gone down well.
Another council source said O’Donnell was appointed when Matheson was leader and was perceived to be closer to him than McAveety.
O’Donnell secured the post last year after the retirement of longstanding chief executive George Black.
She was the council’s executive director of corporate services from 2011, with responsibility for legal services, elections, human resources, procurement, city resilience, customer and business support, and corporate governance.
A solicitor, she joined Glasgow District Council in 1991 and, following local government reorganisation, was promoted to chief solicitor in 1996.
She has also been assistant head of legal and administrative services and had a two-year secondment as depute director of social work services.
O’Donnell said last year after being unveiled as chief executive: “I am delighted and humbled to have been appointed. This is a really exciting time for Glasgow.
“There is no doubt the next few years will be challenging for everyone in local government, but I believe we have the energy, the ideas and, crucially, the best people to meet those challenges.”
Susan Aitken, the SNP group leader on the council, said: “It’s a sure sign that an administration has run out of ideas when they start attacking council staff. Glasgow Labour are in a mess – riddled with in-fighting and patently lacking in strategy, vision or effective leadership.
“Frank McAveety should take responsibility, do the job he’s paid to do, sort out the disaster area that is his own group, and stop trying to dump the blame for his mess on council officers.”
A council spokesman said the chief executive had no comment to make.
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