THE paid boss of Oxford's city council is due to stay in the job for longer than planned, after his contract was extended.

Gordon Mitchell is Oxford City Council's chief executive, and was due to leave the post at the end of December.

Mr Mitchell is currently paid £159,505 a year to oversee all of the city council's responsibilities, and will now be in the job until April next year.

In a press statement, the council said the contract extension 'will provide more time for a smooth handover to a new permanent post-holder'.

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Mr Mitchell was first hired as interim chief executive in May 2017, on a fixed term contract which was due to end in December 2017.

Then, the council decided to privatise many of its services into a company which it owns, once known as Oxford Direct Services and now called ODS.

Because of this, and the council's involvement in the Oxfordshire Growth Deal, Mr Mitchell's contract was extended until the end of 2020, by which time local elections would have taken place and a new group of elected councillors would be sitting.

It was hoped that Mr Mitchell would then help to find and interview his own successor as the council's paid chief.

But the coronavirus pandemic led local elections across the UK to be delayed until 2021.

And when the pandemic hit, the council started operating an 'emergency response operating model' during lockdown, which helps to feed and look after vulnerable and elderly people in the city.

A lot of its manpower has also been taken up creating a new strategy to pay for the extra costs the pandemic has caused to the public purse.

The council has said it is now 'prudent for recruitment to commence' for a new CEO.

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The council's elected leader, Susan Brown, praised Mr Mitchell's role in creating council-owned businesses, bolstering its finances, and promoting a green agenda and inclusivity.

She said: “I’m grateful to Gordon for agreeing to extend his tenure. This will give us time to find the right person to help Oxford continue to work for the interests of local residents, supporting an inclusive city, helping people through the pandemic and tackling climate change.”

Andrew Gant, the council's Lib Dem leader of the opposition said: “I am grateful to Gordon for his calm and inclusive leadership during a period of considerable challenge, and for agreeing to extend his contract in response to unforeseen circumstances. Clearly our city and council are going to look very different going forward, and stakeholders will need to work together to support our residents, visitors and the wider economy as effectively as we can. I am delighted that Gordon will play his part in that process in the coming months and help manage the transition to a permanent appointment.”

Mr Mitchell said: “I have seen the council grow in its entrepreneurial style, its outward facing attitude and its success in building an incredibly wide range of beneficial partnerships through its city leadership. The closeness to communities and its championing of the causes that matter to local people and the future of the city is a model for other local authorities up and down the country and I am enjoying helping to support those ambitions."

The council is due to sign off on a recruitment process for a new chief executive when it meets on October 5.