Secret budget talks: councillors furious after officers and some colleagues briefed by mayor

Gold Coast councillors are furious after learning Mayor Tom Tate has been in private talks with committee chairs and senior officers about the council budget.

A GOLD Coast City councillor is furious that Mayor Tom Tate has been in private talks with a select group of colleagues and senior officers about the council budget.

The Mayor sent a mayoral directive to his Deputy Mayor Donna Gates, committee chairs and deputies, senior officers, CEO Dale Dickson and his chief of staff Wayne Moran in late December.

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Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate outside the Evandale chambers. Picture: Jerad Williams.

In “guidance” to directors for the 2019-20 budget preparation, Cr Tate wrote about a number of issues including hiring freezes for non-frontline staff.

“I have discussed this matter at length with all the chairs and deputy chairs of all committees recently,” Cr Tate wrote.

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Senior councillor Dawn Crichlow said she was furious to learn about the private meetings.

“That’s been going on since the change in (committee) chairs,” she said. “He doesn’t meet with all elected members.

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Veteran councillor Dawn Crichlow — furious about private budget meetings. Picture: Glenn Hampson.

“We should be all making decisions. But he’s having those private meetings with chairs and deputy chairs.”

A council source said all councillors only became aware of the budget mayoral directive about three months after it was sent.

“The memo shows that certain councillors are provided advice about the budget, while others are not,” the source said. “This information was provided to all councillors by the CEO on March 18.

“It specifically indicates a target ‘efficiency dividend’ impacting operational expenditure of each directorate.

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Deputy Mayor Donna Gates talking to Mayor Tom Tate at the Evandale chambers. Picture: Glenn Hampson.

“It is an example of the Mayor’s approach to involving some but not all councillors in his ideas.”

Cr Tate said there would be time in the special budget sessions starting next month for all councillors to have input.

“Every councillor knows my door is always open for them to meet and discuss any issue, at any time. That clearly includes the budget,” he said.

“In the meantime, I am working with the CEO, directors and councillors to shape the 2019-2020 draft budget.

“We will then host special budget meetings to go through the draft budget, line by line. There is ample opportunity for input from everyone through that process.’’

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Cr Tate said councillors would all be included later down the line. Pic by Richard Gosling

In the memo, Cr Tate talked about “instituting a 1.1 per cent efficiency dividend applied to your directorate operational budget”.

A council source said councillors who were not part of the budget briefings had no knowledge about the efficiency dividend.

The initiative recognises that CPI is at 1.9 per cent and it will help stop costs such as wages from blowing out, keeping overall increases to about four per cent.

Cr Tate asked committee chairs and deputies to focus on avoiding operational expenditure which was the responsibility of other areas of government and reduce the “nice to have” operational initiatives.

“I do not want to see frontline services cut nor core council activities cut back,” he wrote.

“You should take a very close look at the hiring of staff for naturally vacated positions in your directorate in particular.”