ADELAIDE Plains Council (APC) has revealed the reasons behind adding an additional $430,000 to its wages budget, and that doing so would lead to an increase in council borrowing.
APC chief executive officer James Miller released his seven-month-long organisational review of the council on Friday, which outlined major changes to its organisational structure and recommended hiring six new positions to improve efficiency and help cope with new growth.
The previously confidential report was compiled through eight separate audits, many of which were independent of the council.
As reported in The Bunyip last week, APC elected members narrowly supported adding $430,000 to the councils wages budget in its 2019/20 Annual Business Plan and Budget, as recommended by the review, at a meeting on May 20.
The review recommended adding $511,500 to the wage bill, but this was revised down by the elected body.
The recently-released documents reveal at a March 26 special meeting, councillors voted against endorsing the new positions as outlined in Mr Miller’s review, and instead asked for a report of the financial impact of the new positions.
The subsequent financial report, which was handed down at council’s April meeting, revealed the new positions would have to be funded with borrowed money.
According to the draft 2019/20 budget, council borrowings will total $2,567,000 next year – an increase from $2,348,614, which was outlined before the proposed new positions.
Mr Miller’s organisational review included “detailed analysis of current shortcomings” in the council’s labour levels, and structure and systems that needed improvement to ensure the council was “improving efficiencies and operating at maximum productivity”.
One of the new positions, an assistant accountant, was recommended because the current general manager of finance and economic development has “very little support” and has worked across sick and annual leave to “keep up with the workload”, which the report argued was “simply unacceptable”.
The report also stated the council’s administration department is “drastically understaffed” and would require two new administration officers to ensure the council runs efficiently.
