Toowoomba councillor, business identity Gary Gardner pushes through changes to council finance reporting

Toowoomba business identity and first-term councillor Gary Gardner has called for a full revamp of the council’s finance reporting, arguing he and his colleagues weren’t getting the “full picture”.

Councillor Gary Gardner during an ordinary meeting of council, Tuesday, May 28, 2024. Picture: Kevin Farmer

Newly-elected Toowoomba councillor Gary Gardner has moved to revamp the organisation’s monthly reporting to make it more transparent and easy to understand.

In his first significant motion since being elected in March, Mr Gardner has called for the support of colleagues at Tuesday’s meeting to completely revise the council’s monthly financial reporting.

The report, delivered by finance and business strategy general manager Ann-Marie Johnston, provides councillors with an update on a variety of metrics related to the business of council including revenue and expenditure budgets, cash ratios and key events that might affect them.

Finance and business strategy general manager Ann-Marie Johnston. Picture: Kevin Farmer

But in his motion, Mr Gardner said the document did not “give councillors the full picture”.

“To enable councillors to make strategic decisions regarding council’s financial management, I believe that delivering the data/information in this way will give councillors a clearer understanding of trends, forecasting and challenges council may face,” he wrote.

Mr Gardner provided examples of monthly financial documents from other councils like Melbourne City and Noosa, which he argued painted much clearer trends to assist with decision-making.

A subsequent motion by mayor Geoff McDonald  to refer the matter to the audit committee was supported unanimously, which Mr Gardner said reflected the need for a revision.

“No one on the council is an accountant so it’s about presenting it in a simplified format,” he said.

“It’s more about clarity — it’s been done that way for a long time.”

The audit committee will now discuss the merits of changing the format of reporting.

It comes just months after the Toowoomba magnate and executive chairman of FKG Group warned the TRC was headed for a “financial crisis” if it proceeded with borrowing millions to afford the $270m Cressbrook Dam safety upgrades.

Mr Gardner said it was still too early to tell whether his warnings were correct, but noted there was “room for improvement everywhere”.

While concerns around the council’s financial situation remain, the Queensland Treasury Corporation recently maintained the TRC’s credit rating as “sound with a neutral outlook”.

“Council is well aware of the cost-of-living pressures which residents face every day, with the same inflationary pressure also impacting council’s bottom line,” mayor Geoff McDonald said in reaction to the news.

“We’ve seen large increases to the costs of materials during the past two years due to supply and demand pressures, with Council largely shouldering these cost increases on behalf of residents.”