Paul Marinko meets the chief executive of Kingston RLBC, a wealthy borough facing tough financial restraints

Local government minister, Phil Woolas, is unlikely to be on Bruce McDonald's Christmas card list.
The Kingston RLBC chief executive is one of 20 London borough bosses facing the prospect of budget-setting, in the knowledge that the Government has only awarded them the floor grant increase of 2.7%.
For Bruce the challenge is greater because Kingston will be eager to lose its crown for having set the highest council tax in the capital last year, with a Band D rate of £1,449.
‘Our council tax is the highest in London because 68% of our expenditure comes out of the council tax, whereas the average in London is 52%,' he explains.
‘What is indefensible is the impact that council tax has on residents. There is no account of ability to pay.'
Personally, the royal borough's chief backs the idea of a basket of taxes to replace the council tax, adding: ‘[Sir Michael] Lyons needs to address the issue of resource equalisation.'
He argues relocalisation of business rates would mean Kingston was £15m-a-year better off.
‘If Kingston was able to hold on to more of the tax it collected, it would be a huge benefit.'
Although, he admits: ‘If the period of 2000 to 2005 was a period of generous helpings, the period after 2006 will be a strict diet.
‘The financial future is the most difficult we have faced for years. We have to make sure we keep our focus on what matters most, and ask how we bring service planning in line with financial realities.'
While financial matters play a big part in Bruce's average day, his background is in human resources.
He came to Kingston 26 years ago as a personnel officer, was a chief personnel officer by the age of 30, and director by 39, before being made chief executive, seven years ago, by which time he was 46.
‘There are a few chief executives with an HR background but not many,' he says ‘But it's a very good grounding.'
And, he admits, it probably helps that Liberal Democrat council leader, Derek Osbourne, also comes from the world of HR.
‘We have always had an interest in the culture of the organisation and achieving the environment in which staff can achieve highly,' explains Bruce.
This ethos has meant Kingston has continued to hover around the ‘excellent' and ‘good' CPA ratings since 2000, now possessing three stars and an ‘improving well' tag.
Areas such as environment and housing have held the council back from maintaining the top score, but, Bruce says: ‘The interesting thing is this has all happened without the performance objectively going down.'
He points out the authority has maintained high standards in children's services and social care.
‘We want to be recognised as a high performer, and staff are committed to it,' he says. ‘But the judgement of residents is most important.'
If Kingston's council tax rate has produced a few negative headlines in local newspapers, the same could be said of the town hall's efforts to build a new theatre.
Council bosses put themselves in the frying pan when they tried to sign a deal with local billionaire, Nadhmi Auchi, to help bankroll the project.
The Iraqi-born businessman was convicted by a Paris court for his involvement in a corruption scandal surrounding former French oil company Elf, a fact which didn't play well with local hacks.
In the end, the deal fell through, and the council was forced to go back on its original promise of not forking out more public money on the multimillion-pound project. But, Bruce remains committed to the plan.
‘The reason for the council investing in the theatre is social and economic, not cultural,' he explains. ‘We want to change the people perspective of the town centre after dark, and draw other people in.'
The council is concerned that while the town is highly successful as a shopping centre and a nightlife hotspot for teenagers and young adults, there is a gap when it comes to older adults using Kingston in the evenings. A fact, it hopes, the theatre will change.
Asked what his future ambition for the council is, Bruce makes clear the feel-good factor is key.
‘By 2011, we want to nationally represent the best place to live and work,' he says.
‘And, for residents to believe services are high quality, thinking of them as Kingston services, no matter who provides them.'
Challenges lie ahead, but Kingston is clearly on the way to its goal.