Whistle blown: Inside $1m ‘golden handshake’ deals for top Gold Coast City Council execs

Senior executives have left council on “golden handshake deals” costing ratepayers more than $1 million in two years, according to whistleblowers and City Hall insiders.

Senior executives have left council on “golden handshake deals” costing ratepayers more than $1 million in two years, according to whistleblowers and City Hall insiders.

The stunning disappearance of top executives in the past two years occurred without notice to staffers after their bosses signed nondisclosure agreements to ensure their salary entitlements.

Exhaustion after working 14-hour shifts during the Covid crisis played a role, but managers also sniffed a change with the city’s second biggest workforce — more than 4000 staffers — about to undergo a restructure.

Former CEO Dale Dickson with current Mayor Tom Tate. Picture: Richard Gosling

At least two reports by consultants to council – where employees voiced their concerns as recently as 2020 – were hidden, the Bulletin has learned.

A whistleblower claims the then-upper management did not like the findings.

“You would be amazed to know how much the City has paid to senior executives in the last couple of years in golden handshake deals that effectively gag those persons from talking about their experiences at the City,” the whistleblower said.

“Their departures were announced on their last day, and late in the day, when no farewells were offered and they sailed off into the sunset. Some of these were given “hush” money to avoid talking about conduct they had reported and management wanted kept hushed.

“In the last two years, the total value of these deeds would be more than $1 million, and this is not including accumulated entitlements.”

A Bulletin investigation has found:

* at least seven senior managers, some heading up departments have left since 2020.

* five of the most senior executives earn up to $400,000, and former CEO Dale Dickson, who left in March 2021, was on between $700,000 to $800,000.

* those executives now gone are respected leaders, responsible for critical areas like People and Culture, City Architect, Corporate Risk and Assurance along with Integrity and Ethics.

* whistleblowers are reaching out to some councillors who are now privately seeking reassurances on morale of the City workforce.

* the new CEO Tim Baker recently engaged an external provider to undertake a cultural review as an “opportunity” for employees to voice their concerns and have them addressed.

*comments in the ‘hidden” report sought by former CEO Dale Dickson in 2020 made by managers include their staffers being “miserable” and “reaching breaking point”.

* while positives resulted from the City’s reaction to Covid, consultants found the “incident management team” was activated too late, policy was “written on the run” and many plans for such a disaster were “out of date”.

Council workers on strike after pay negotiations with Gold Coast City Council broke down. Picture: Richard Gosling

Interviews with senior staffers confirmed they were exhausted after working 14 hour days only for one to be told their promised salary increase, set in their contract, would not occur (see story opposite).

A council insider said the council was about to embark on not just one but “two to three restructures coming through” within the next two years.

“It’s going to be a very efficient council in 18 months,” the source said.

Mr Baker when asked about the consultant report before his appointment said reviews on something as unprecedented as COVID-19 were common and considered best practice for large organisations.

“This is standard business improvement to ensure we are best prepared to respond to future critical incidents,” he said.

“As such, it was appropriate this report was undertaken by independent consultants and the leanings have been incorporated into planning for future scenarios.

“It is not appropriate to talk about individual cases (regarding mental health) but the City has a strong support framework for staff including access to leave and a 24-hour employee assistance program.”

Mr Baker when asked about the alleged “golden handshakes” said he would not comment on specific staffing matters.

However, staff turnover for the past three years has remained broadly consistent, he said.

Mr Baker estimates 73 per cent of the council workforce responded to the Workplace Culture Survey which he described as “an outstanding result”.

“It will take a couple of months to crunch the numbers and we will then communicate with staff the findings and what our next steps are,” he said.

“The findings from our Culture Survey and our new corporate plan — set to be adopted in coming months — will help set the future direction of our organisation.”