Revealed: Gympie councillors, senior staff pay packets for 2023
‘Extraordinary’ costs are among the reasons Gympie Regional Council ran at a deficit in 2022-23 despite bringing in more than $125.9 million in revenue, the organisation’s newly released annual report reveals.
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Gympie Regional Council’s senior leadership and elected members came with a cost to ratepayers of more than $2 million in 2023, new figures show.
Pay packets for the organisations most high profile members have been revealed in the council’s latest annual report, released by the council following a special meeting Tuesday morning.
It shows the total remuneration for the region’s 10 councillors in 2022-23, including Mayor Glen Hartwig, was more than $813,000.
Mr Hartwig’s total packet, including superannuation, was $152,163.06.
It’s well below Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate’s salary which increases from $271,124 to $279,258, an increase of $8134, while Lawrence Springborg in Goondiwindi will be paid just $120,000 next year.
The Sunshine Coast mayor’s salary will top $250k next year.
Gympie Deputy Mayor Hilary Smerdon’s total remuneration was $95,101.90, while the other eight divisional councillors each received $80,834.87.
Councillor wages are determined by a state’s Local Government Remuneration Body.
This year councillors across Queensland are being offered pay rises of up to 4 per cent, depending on the size of the council.
Councillors can vote to refuse any increase for the year.
The report shows the council’s senior leadership team came at a cost of more than $1.2 million to ratepayers.
It included two staff members with salaries sitting between the $300,000 to $399,000 range, and two more within the $200,000 to $299,000 range.
The council’s senior staff include CEO Robert Jennings, who started in March 2023, chief financial officer David Lewis, infrastructure director Graham O’Byrne, and now-departed sustainability director Adrian Burns.
Mr Burns resigned in late October.
The council recorded an operational loss for the year, with its costs outstripping its revenue by $2.82 million.
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This was despite the council raising $13 million more in revenue than it did in the 2021-22 financial year.
The council’s total operating expenses for the year were $128.7 million.
More than $43 million of these expenses were incurred by work on roads and other infrastructure.
About 68 per cent ($84 million) of the council’s $125.9 million in revenue was raised from rates and charges.
The report says this was driven by “extraordinary expenses”, including IT upgrades and restarting the rollout of the Southside Sewerage Scheme.
Employee benefits for the year jumped by more than $5 million, with the council paying its staff a total of $43,988,000 in total benefits.
Materials and services skyrocketed by more than $8 million.
The council spent $53.8 million on these in 2022-23, compared to $45.6 million in 2021-22.
Across the region the council provided more than $84,000 in grant funding to community groups and organisations, spread across more 100 applications.
Income from fines and infringements nearly doubled, with $36,000 raised in 2022-23 compared to $19,000 the previous year.
Another $89,000 was raised through parking fees and fines, $15,000 more than in the year previous.
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