COUNCIL chief executive Tony Hunter believes the authority is in good shape to meet the challenges of the future as he departs after five years in charge.
Mr Hunter, who leaves his position later this month to take up the role of chief executive at the Social Care Institute for Excellence, said he was sad to be leaving North East Lincolnshire, but that the chance to return to his "first love" social care, was an opportunity too good to miss.
He will, however, continue to be an ambassador for North East Lincolnshire.
Mr Hunter joined NELC in September 2008, following a period of rebuilding within the authority after near financial meltdown in the early 2000s.
He said he found a council which, understandably given its turbulent recent past, was inward-looking, used to criticism and therefore tended to play safe.
Mr Hunter said: "Between 2004 and 2007 the council had to be very inward-looking to get its internal systems working well. By the time I came in 2008 the challenge was beginning to change – to be more outward looking and engaging, to enable staff to feel more involved and engaged and to give the organisation space to breathe."
Just a few weeks into the role and Mr Hunter faced his first crisis when the authority was criticised by the Audit Commission for investing in Icelandic Banks which shortly afterwards folded.
He admits the episode and the storm of public criticism "rocked the council".
He said: "The timing was unfortunate because the council had done so much on its services and infrastructure. I stated as chief executive, and I still believe this was the right thing to have done, that this was officer error and therefore I took responsibility for putting it right.
"I fronted most of the external publicity and I can remember being asked by a reporter that if things weren't put right within a year would I resign. I said yes. That might have sounded a bit foolhardy but I knew the officers would be able to put matters right and we did."
Mr Hunter's arrival also coincided with the dawn of the new age of austerity in local government funding, presenting councils with the difficult challenge of doing more for less.
"Myself and the other senior managers always told staff we would approach reductions in a planned and phased way. We promised we would avoid sudden knee-jerk panic statements about huge job losses and huge reductions in services and we were able to articulate that because all three political groups were committed to that approach.
"We were blessed that we had good financial systems and good levels of reserves to smooth the impact of the cuts over a number of years.
"We promised the first thing we would do before we hit services was reduce the operating costs of the organisation and we did that. It was painful, but it has enabled us to be far leaner."
The appointment of a £70,000 Future Shape Manager to oversee cost-cutting at the authority attracted inevitable criticism.
Mr Hunter insists the move was the right one, but admits the council left itself open to ridicule by choosing a job title which smacked of management-speak.
"The job did what it needed to do. We saved about £10 million in internal operating costs which swamps the salary of the person who was here for an 18-month period."
Mr Hunter believes the council is in a "good place" to face the continued reductions in funding from central government, but adds that it is now entering the most difficult phase.
He says that partnerships with the private and voluntary sectors will be key to achieving even greater efficiency.
And he believes that the groundbreaking contract the council signed with Balfour Beatty, as well its partnerships with Serco in education and with the health service, indicate an authority which is pragmatic and forward-thinking.
"We are very proud of these partnerships and it is symbolic of the way this council has been very pragmatic and open to new ways of doing things. It is a very modern council in many respects."
Mr Hunter recalls some of the phrases used to describe the council by staff when he first arrived – there's too much looking back, we're too inward looking, we tend to play safe.
Five years later, and he believes progress has been made, although he is quick to insist the credit lies less with him but more with the organisation as a whole.
"As a council we have some great people here and I really think we have moved on. It really has been a team effort.
"There's no doubt that the members, the staff and the partner organisations really are genuinely passionate about the residents of this area.
"It has been a great five years and I have enjoyed it immensely. I will miss the banter and the humour, but to return to my roots is just too good an opportunity to miss."
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