Gympie council’s consultant bill hits $1.26 million

Outside help continues to be brought in by Gympie Regional Council but there has been a big change in how often that’s happening.

Mayor Glen Hartwig, Gympie Town Hall

Consulting firms have been pushed aside by Gympie Regional Council, with figures showing the organisation is on track to spend the least amount on outside help in the past five years.

Figures released by the council in its new Transparency Hub reveal that as of April 2021, $1.26 million had been spent on consultancy help this financial year.

This was well below the $2.03 million spent in 2019-20.

It put the council on track to spend $1.51 million on outside help over the financial year, the lowest since at least 2016-17, when $1.53 million was spent.

The council’s annual reports do not include records of how much was spent on consultants in the years prior to this.

The Hub’s figures do not break down what the consultants have been engaged for.

CEO Shane Gray says the council has delivered on its mandate following the 2020 election to cut the amount spent on consultants.

Council CEO Shane Gray said the drop in consultant costs reflected the council’s mandate following the 2020 election to “reduce the use of external consultants and use the skill sets of the staff within council”.

“This was implemented at the start of the 2020-2021 financial year,” Mr Gray said.

Mayor Glen Hartwig said the decrease “was a step in the right direction” and he denied the council was at risk of leaving itself short of expertise.

“Based on the results, no (there’s been no loss of skill),” Mr Hartwig said.

“One of the most enjoyable aspects is … the quality and amount of information the council is getting from its own staff.

“It’s a complete turnaround from before and very much welcomed by the councillors.”