The wages bill is included in the published accounts of the annual report to be discussed at a special meeting of the council tomorrow night.

Employee costs have also risen substantially.

The wages bill of the Mayor and aldermen rose slightly on last year from $225,685 to $282,536, but not because of a rise in the Mayor’s pay. 

Mayor Fay Miller said the council completed a major staff restructure in the past year.

The restructure was held from May 2017 and was finalised in March this year.

“The information gained from this process and the improvements made to the structure and way council staff conduct business, will enhance the capacity to service the needs of residents,” Mayor Miller said.

“It enables council to move forward into the future with renewed confidence, especially in regard to long term financial planning and management of council assets.”

Council’s workforce has grown from 38 full time equivalent employees to 42 full time equivalent employees in a year, in addition to the number of part time and casual staff employed by council.

Wage costs rose because council “had had to make provisions for the extended sick and maternity leave of some key personnel whilst continuing the delivery of day-to-day activities, resulting in backfilling a number of positions”, council’s executive manager (corporate and community development) Rosemary Jennings today.

Ms Jennings said the wage rise was kept within budget and said the calculation method used for the employment of staff had also changed.

The annual report shows rates income rose this year to $7,578,045 from $6,930,391 the year before.

Employee costs for the past year were $4,561,602 from $3,894,730 the year before.

The council’s operating surplus for the year was $4,611,979 against another surplus of $3,609,093 the year before.

Salaries and wages listed in the annual report rose to $3,337,841 from $3,064,756 the year before, a rise of about nine per cent.

More information on the staff restructure was offered in the annual report saying an increase of works was needed throughout the Katherine municipality “following council receiving major capital grant funding to undergo major upgrades to numerous council facilities”.

“The restructure allowed council to identify opportunities for organisational growth and has since started recruiting positions to fill gaps in services and key functions of council.

“The purpose of the restructure was to better align reporting requirements to suit the needs of the council, reduce the silo effect and address key concerns for the gaps in council’s delivery of services.

This resulted in significant changes being undertaken to council’s service departments, where the Community Services and Works and Services departments were renamed and undertook changes to better suit the needs of council.

“In addition to this, council created a Strategic Planning and Governance Services department in which oversees and undergo council’s long-term financial and strategic planning, compliance requirements, human resources services, asset management, project management and sustainable services.

“With the completion of the restructure, council has undertaken reviews and process changes to every-day HR practices.

“This was initiated once the Strategic Planning and Governance Services department was established and the role of Governance Officer was created to provide high level human resources services while overseeing and undertaking HR processes for recruiting, disciplining and counselling employees, developing compliance frameworks and other strategic human resource systems to assist council in achieving its goals.

“Council aims to have integrated Individual Work Plans for all employees to monitor and assist in employee performance management by the end of 2019.”

In February, council began negotiations to renew the Enterprise Agreement with staff which was due to expire in September.

The council’s annual report can be accessed here.

Council’s executive manager (corporate and community development) Ms Jennings today said the council experienced a positive year in 2017/2018 with excellent results achieved across all areas.

“Council has been successful in advocating for large amounts of funding to help support the economic, social and recreational wellbeing of our community whilst continuing to provide core municipal services,” Ms Jennings said.

She said council had received an increased in grants funding with a $1.4 million increase in grants for new or upgraded assets.

She said a further $13.1 million is being held by council (CBD, Sportsgrounds, Showgrounds) in readiness for the projects to start.

Council has also achieved an operating surplus of $4,611,979 whilst ensuring our rates are some of the lowest in the NT, she said.

“This is another positive demonstration of effective Long Term Financial Management, with the surplus going towards planned capital renewals for some of the $146M worth of community infrastructure that Katherine Town Council manages, most notably the Waste Management Facility.

“From a wages perspective, like most organisations we have had to make provisions for the extended sick and maternity leave of some key personnel whilst continuing the delivery of day-to-day activities, resulting in backfilling a number of positions.

“Prudent financial planning has ensured that KTC has been able to achieve this within the budget, as projected in the 2017/2018 Municipal Plan.

“Further the report shows the number of FTE employed at any point during the year e.g. a full time person commencing employment in June 2018 is recorded as a full time equivalent, rather than 1/12 of an FTE.

“Through the implementation of the Governance Department in the recent restructure, the work of our Governance team embraces all matters that affect Council strategically and is dedicated to providing advice in all aspects of Local Government Law applicable under the Local Government Act 1999 and relevant regulations, long term financial planning, asset management planning and long term workforce planning.

“The advice and expertise extends to the responsibilities and accountability of elected members, risk management, conflict of interest and the processes and substance of Council’s internal decision-making functions. 

“Although an increase for the Mayor has been budgeted for 2018/2019, this is not included in the financial statements provided (year ending June 30, 2018).

“This increase in expenditure relates to Local Government Election costs ($46,000) as well as equipment and communication requirements for elected members ($10,000).”

While you're with us, you can now receive updates straight to your inbox each Friday at 6am from the Katherine Times. To make sure you're up to date with all the news, sign up here.