State Government plan to cap councillor numbers and CEO salaries to cut costs
The State Government is raising the stakes on its plan to overhaul councils, with plans to cap CEO salaries and limit councils to 12 councillors — see which councils now have more than a dozen.
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Local councils would be limited to 12 councillors and chief executive salaries capped under sweeping reforms planned by the state government to save ratepayers money.
Local Government Minister Stephan Knoll said he wants “hip pocket relief for hardworking families and businesses” from a plan which includes:
CAPPING councillors to 12 per council, saving approximately $666,000 per year in allowances — at the moment 13 councils have more than a dozen councillors, led by Port Adelaide Enfield with 18;
CAPPING chief executive salaries;
CRACKING down on bad council behaviour to slash the approximately $13m legal fee bill councils pass on to ratepayers each year;
REMOVING the need for a supplementary election if required within 12 months of the periodic election.
The planned changes come as the government fights to have its second attempt at rate capping passed in parliament after the first was defeated by the Opposition and crossbench MPs.
Government modelling shows the changes would have saved households and businesses $19m last financial year year, although the analysis is rejected by the Local Government Association.
Mr Knoll said capping councillors and CEO salaries will help reduce cost pressures which councils can pass on to ratepayers.
“Our reforms will also deliver a faster and more effective way to resolve repeated or serious misbehaviour by councillors,” he said.
“Currently, councils can spend thousands of dollars getting a complaint assessed to determine whether it should be investigated or not, then tens of thousands of dollars on investigation by lawyers.”
Local Government Association president Sam Telfer said the sector supports many of the proposals which will reduce red tape and — in principle — new behaviour standards for elected members.
“Our sector has been pushing for code of conduct reform, and these changes will reduce the need for lawyers by supporting councils to quickly and effectively deal with isolated issues of bad behaviour when they occur,” he said.
“We also broadly support the Remuneration Tribunal determining salary bands for council CEOs. We are consulting with our members regarding the proposal to limit councils to twelve elected members, and will form a position based on the feedback we receive.”
A spokeswoman for Port Adelaide Enfield Council said the council opposes the reduction in the number of councillors. The council’s position is the move may “lead to a distortion of democratic access” in larger, highly populated council areas.
Councils with more than 12 councillors are: Port Adelaide Enfield (18), Charles Sturt (17), Playford (16), Salisbury, West Torrens (15), Mitcham, Norwood Payneham St Peters (14), Burnside, Marion, Adelaide Hills, Holdfast Bay, Onkaparinga and Tea Tree Gully (13).