Sir Clive Loader has said he is "99 per cent" sure he will not be appointing a deputy to assist him in his new role as Leicestershire and Rutland's police and crime commissioner.
The Conservative former RAF chief does not believe he needs a second-in-command to help him in his role.
Under the new legislation, commissioners are entitled to appoint a deputy if they wish and, so far, 15 of Sir Clive's 40 counterparts elsewhere in the country have done so.
Some of the appointments have attracted criticism from the police think tank The Police Foundation because of the cost of substantial salaries.
However, Sir Clive, who is paid £70,000 in his new role, told the Leicester Mercury he was almost certain he will not be following other commissioners' leads.
He said: "The people elected me to do the job and I do not see that the job requires a deputy.
"I'm not 100 per cent sure but I am 99 per cent sure.
"One of the reasons I am allergic to the idea is the cost of it.
"I see that another commissioner (Northamptonshire) has appointed four assistants at £68,000.
"I want to keep the expenses as low as possible."
Sir Clive admitted he still had to gauge the full scale of the job he has taken on, but said he has been putting 70 to 80 hours a week in during his first fortnight.
Sir Clive said defeated Labour candidate Sarah Russell had intended to appoint a deputy, but said: "It (having a deputy) has never been part of my thinking.
"It wasn't during my campaign. The fact that deputies' positions are attracting some criticism in the media confirms that my thinking has been right."
Coun Russell said: "I was intending to have a deputy.
"I did say that, had I won, after Christmas I would have looked at appointing one after I got a sense of the scale of the workload.
"Perhaps I would have had someone to do one day a week if cover was needed.
"He (Sir Clive) will do things his own way but there are questions like what will happen when he is on holiday.
"The idea of having a deputy is also about having someone to work through ideas with and challenge you."
Sir Clive said: "I am contactable. There are very few places in the world where someone cannot get hold of me if I am needed.
"There may be times when my chief executive represents me but I don't want or need a deputy.
"What would I used one for?
"If I am invited to something and I send someone else that sends out the wrong message to me.
"I have always said I do not want a bloated office."
The total cost of Sir Clive's office is £450,000 a year.
That includes a permanent staff of a chief executive, chief finance officer, a head of governance, two governance support officers, an office administrator and a policy and performance officer.
He has a communications officer, a finance officer and a planning performance officer on temporary appointments.
