A TOP York city council director who was suspended from duty will take early retirement, the Evening Press can reveal today.

The move has sparked anger from a senior Labour councillor.

Guildhall sources at City of York Council have told us that a compromise agreement agreed by the authority's urgency committee will almost certainly see commercial services director David Finnegan leave his post.

Mr Finnegan was suspended in August regarding what one council source described as "very sensitive disciplinary issues".

Members of the council's urgency committee met behind closed doors on Wednesday to discuss a compromise agreement between the authority and Mr Finnegan.

That committee included council leader Steve Galloway, Labour leader Dave Merrett, Coun Andrew Waller and Coun Ann Reid.

The council subsequently refused to discuss what the compromise agreement was or what it entailed, saying it could not comment on confidential reports.

But business experts defined it as "setting out the financial and all other terms on which the employment relationship will end".

Now the Evening Press can reveal that a settlement package has been offered to Mr Finnegan - with terms that have drawn the ire of Coun Merrett.

Coun Merrett said strict confidentiality meant he could not discuss any details about the controversial arrangement or even whether it had been approved by the panel.

But he did say he had voted against the offer during the urgency committee meeting because he felt it was an "unreasonable cost".

"I didn't vote for the settlement on the grounds that it was an unreasonable cost to the council and to council tax payers," he said.

Commercial services is one of the council's highest profile departments encompassing refuse collection, recycling and Street Scene, as well as building and highways repairs.

A contract was recently signed to take the department to a new £9 million Eco building in Hazel Court, details of which were unveiled in the Evening Press last week.

Mr Finnegan has consistently refused to comment on any aspect of his suspension, save to say he hoped the issue was resolved quickly. John Goodyear is the acting director of the department.

A council spokeswoman said Mr Finnegan was today still in the council's employment but refused to comment further.

Updated: 10:33 Monday, October 03, 2005