Revealed: Council chiefs making hundreds of thousands every year

Several Victorian council executives are raking in similar salaries to Premier Daniel Andrews, sparking calls for an overhaul to rein in excess.

Several Victorian council executives are earning similar salaries to the Premier, with one ­departing top dog raking in ­nearly as much as the Prime Minister.

Eye-watering figures compiled by Council Watch from local governments’ annual reports show the best-paid executive at one council banked more than $550,000 in one year.

In comparison, Anthony Albanese earns $564,354, while Daniel Andrews has just scored a pay rise which takes his salary to $481,190.

A Hume executive commanded the highest pay at $550,000 to $560,000, almost $200,000 more than the council’s chief executive Sheena Frost.

However, a spokesman said the highly paid executive had since left the council and that his income was boosted by a large annual and long service leave payout.

Hume City Council chief executive Sheena Frost is a highly paid council executive. A former director at the council received a massive income in the last financial year — about $200,000 more than Ms Frost — due to a large payout of leave entitlements when they left the organisation. Picture: Hume City Council website

Former City of Melbourne boss Justin Hanney had the highest remuneration bracket for a chief executive prior to his resignation in ­October, raking in $530,000 to $539,999.

A council spokesman would not confirm what salary range acting chief executive Alison Leighton was in.

Monash’s Andi Diamond and Casey’s Glenn Patterson are paid $480,000 to $490,000, according to the Council Watch data, while Boroondara’s Phillip Storer receives about $475,000.

Dr Diamond received a pay rise from the City of Monash, her salary increasing by $60,000 from 2021 to 2022.

She also enjoys an extra two weeks’ leave on top of her salary of more than $480,000, it can be revealed.

The extra fortnight is added to the standard four weeks’ annual leave entitlement in most standard contracts.

Monash chief executive Andi Diamond receives an additional two weeks annual leave, on top of her $480,000+ salary.

One local government insider said councils were embarrassed by the large salaries being doled out to chief executives so were offering other incentives to attract the right executives.

Other benefits include trips to overseas conferences and improved car entitlements.

According to the Australia Bureau of Statistics, the average weekly ordinary time earnings for adults working full-time as of November 2022 was $1807, or $94,000 a year.

Council Watch vice president Dean Hurlston said chief executive salaries at most councils were not linked to community satisfaction or the size of the municipality.

“With poor service standards across the sector, there is no justification for these ­levels of remuneration,” Mr Hurlston said.

Justin Hanney was paid somewhere between $530,000 and $540,000 before he suddenly quit in October. Picture: Aaron Francis

Acting Melbourne Council CEO Alison Leighton. Picture: Nicole Garmston

“Councils are full of waste and fat cat salaries … (they) need an urgent overhaul to rein in the excesses.

“How a council CEO can earn over half a million dollars, it beggars belief.”

Council Watch has called for regulation of council executive salaries, to align with the level of service the ­organisation provides.

Mr Hurlston said Council Watch believed the salary base for council chief executives should be determined by an external state body, with executives able to earn extra benefits based on performance.

A Monash council spokesman said the chief executive’s almost $500,000 salary “took into account experience, performance and the size and significance of the City of Monash”.