Tom Carter:- Tribute to 97-year-old who once controlled the finances of Moray, Aberdeen, Banff and Buchan, Gordon, plus Kincardine and Deeside
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Spending public money wisely at the rate of £1 million every day was all part of the job for Tom Carter who has died in Aberdeen, aged 97.
As director of finance for the former Grampian Regional Council from 1975 till 1987 he had responsibility for an annual budget of more than £360 million.
His grasp of the complexities of local authority finance earned him the respect of councillors and colleagues and he acted as an advisor to various committees of the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) before being made an OBE for services to local government.
Thomas Edward Carter was born at Carlisle in 1923 and was educated at Birkenhead, leaving school at 15.
For eight years he had clerical jobs in marine insurance and with the LMS Railway before getting his first local government job in Birkenhead’s parks and cemeteries department.
He soon transferred to the borough treasurer’s department and obtained three professional qualifications in six years, winning several awards in the process from the Chartered Institute of Secretaries, the Institute of Cost Management Accountants and the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy.
He gained experience in London and Lincolnshire before being appointed county treasurer for Moray and Nairn in 1968.
In 1974 he was named as the first director of finance for Grampian Regional Council and he also acted as treasurer for the North-East River Purification Board.
He was chairman of Scottish Director of Finance in 1976-77 and was chairman of the Scottish branch of the Chartered Institute of Local Government Finance and Accountancy in 1985.
From 1981-85 he served as a Public Works Loan Board commissioner.
In 1991 he was called out of retirement to become acting director of finance for the Western Isles Island Council when the authority faced a financial crisis arising from the collapse of the Bank of Credit and Commercial International (BCCI) where the council had invested £23 million.
Following his retirement he was chairman of Partnership Housing Association Ltd and served as a governor of Robert Gordon University (formerly Robert Gordon Institute of Technology) from 1989-94.
His hobbies included walking, bridge, gardening, wine-making and DIY.
Mr Carter is survived by two sons Paul and Simon and three grandchildren.
His funeral takes place at Aberdeen Crematorium on Tuesday. October 12.
