CHANGES will be made to City of York Council's senior staff team - to save about £81,000 a year.

And plans are to be put in place in case the deputy chief executive - standing in as chief executive since the departure of former council boss Mary Weastell - is unavailable at any point through the coronavirus crisis.

A council meeting takes place this afternoon (Tuesday) to discuss the issues.

Councillors will be asked to approve plans for one of the local authority's directors to act as a "decision-maker" in case of the absence of deputy chief executive Ian Floyd.

A report for the meeting says this will offer much needed resilience during the coronavirus emergency.

Following the early retirement of council chief executive Mary Weastell - which led to costs of £404,000 for the local authority - plans to restructure the senior management team have also been put forward.

The proposals aim to save the council about £81,000 a year.

One option includes getting rid of the roles of chief executive and director of finance altogether - replacing them with one post - chief operating officer.

Another proposal would see the chief executive role kept - but the director of finance and investment job removed and some of the responsibilities carried out by a new assistant director of finance post.

The report says other options will also be considered.

And a consultation will be carried out before a preferred new management structure is recommended to councillors.

Council leader Keith Aspden said: “Ms Weastell’s early retirement has given the City of York Council the opportunity to consider a restructure of the council’s corporate management team.

"As part of this, we have been able to identify ways to save money through efficiencies and these proposals will ensure that costs can be met through existing budgets with no additional impact for the taxpayer.

“This will also ensure our senior team focus on the areas that are important to the city and that a consultation is able to be brought forward swiftly. Our ambitious council plan requires significant investment, and to achieve this it is right that we review the best way of delivering for the city to make the most of our available resources.”

The meeting takes place at 4pm today, Tuesday, at West Offices.