A finance expert who will take on one of the most senior roles with us has pledged to ensure taxpayers’ money is used as effectively as possible to provide key services to hundreds of thousands of residents and businesses.
Anton Hodge has been named our interim corporate director of resources and will take over at the end of this month (May) from Gary Fielding, who has worked for us for nearly 30 years.
The role has a wide-ranging remit with the our finances at its heart and Anton will be the principal financial adviser for the authority’s budget, which has a £1.5 billion annual turnover.
We provide a host of services including waste collection and recycling, highways maintenance, social care and leisure to more than 620,000 residents in the county.
Anton will also lead on a wide portfolio of services including customer services, revenues and benefits, procurement, property and commercial, and technology and digital.
Council leader, Cllr Carl Les, who is the chair of the authority’s chief officer appointments committee, said: “Anton brings a wealth of financial expertise to the role and has a deep understanding regarding council services and financial management.
“Gary has been a great servant to North Yorkshire and has played an important role in getting us to where we are today, not least in ensuring the financially sound position that we have as a council. As Gary returns to his home in Lancashire, I am excited to work with Anton as his successor.”
Anton has been an assistant director of resources since June 2010, initially with the former North Yorkshire County Council ahead of the launch of North Yorkshire Council in April 2023.
He has previous experience as a chief finance officer following a secondment between May 2018 and March 2023 at the former Ryedale District Council whilst working for the former county council.
Anton's financial career dates back 35 years and has seen him work at both Cumbria and Cambridgeshire county councils, including a secondment to the Department for Education.
Local government finances nationally continue to be under significant pressure against a backdrop of increasing demand and growing pressure on critical services.
However, we have been named the third most productive local authority in the country by the IMPOWER Index, which measures the performance of councils based on outcomes delivered for every pound spent.
The council is the best performing in the North of England and the announcement in February is seen as support for the move to create a single organisation in the county when the previous eight authorities merged from April 1, 2023.
Anton said: “I am looking forward to the opportunity and I know first-hand the quality of the people and the place here.
“In our fourth year since the launch of the council, being one of the largest and highest performing authorities puts us in a really good place. I will look to use our financial strength and ingenuity to help to deliver even better services for our residents and businesses in North Yorkshire.”
Gary Fielding will leave his role with us at the end of May to take up a position as the corporate director of finance at Lancashire County Council.