Campbelltown Council general manager took home $367,717 last financial year

The six most senior Campbelltown City Council bureaucrats took home a combined $1.68 million in the 2017-18 financial year.

And our elected councillors pocketed $666,638 between them in fees and expenses.

The council’s annual report, which will be tabled at tomorrow night’s meeting, reveals General Manager Lindy Deitz’s total remuneration package – which includes salary, motor vehicle, fringe benefits and superannuation was $367,717.

The report does not specify how much each of the five senior directors earned, but together they earned a total of $1.313 million.

This year four of the directors either left council or are about to, with Jim Baldwin, the City Development chief, the only one not going anywhere.

City Delivery lost Wayne Rylands, who has been replaced by Kevin Lynch, while City Lifestyles is now led by Jenny Franke following the departure of Lisa Miscamble.

Veteran City Governance director Michael Sewell was the first to announce his departure and his spot was taken by Melbourne bureaucrat Phu Nguyen.

Council is yet to announce a replacement for City Growth and Economy director Jeff Lawrence, who is also retiring.

The Annual Report is a key piece of council’s reporting and accountability to its community and stakeholders.

The Local Government (General) Regulation 2005 requires council to report on the remuneration of its senior staff and councillors.

The mayor was paid an annual allowance of $65,230, as well as $24,550, the annual fee paid to each of the councillors elected by the residents of Campbelltown.

Total fees paid to councillors for the year were $344,791.

The mayor, deputy mayor and councillors were also paid expenses “to enable them to discharge their functions of civic office’’.

The total cost was $321,847 and it included:

• $19,164 for the provision of office equipment, internet, facsimile charges, stationery
• $17,513 for councillor’s telephones
• $11,547 for attendance at conferences and seminars including the Local Government NSW Conference
• $23,945 on interstate conferences and seminar expenses: UDIA Conference in Melbourne, Qantas 787 Dreamliner Flying Art Series in Alice Springs, NGA Canberra and International Cities and Town Centres and Community (ICTC) Conference
• $29,029 on councillor training and skill development
• $4,536 on international visits including airfares, accommodation and incidentals in relation to Sister City delegation visit to Koshigaya, Japan
• $209,912 for other expenses including administration support and office accommodation
• $5,500 for Sydney South West Planning Panel sitting fees.

The report says council achieved an operating surplus of $13.42m (excluding capital items) and a small budget surplus of $30,000 in 2017-18.

Council’s total expenditure was $233.9 million.

Key financial results:

Total income up 9 percent to $231.4m (due to a large parcel of land sold in the previous financial year)

Total expenses up 20 percent to $233.9m (largely due to significant land and infrastructure dedications)

Total assets up 6 percent to $2.4b (largely due to change in depreciation methodology)

Total liabilities down 6 percent to $47.3m

Infrastructure, property, plant and equipment down 7 percent to $2.195b (largely due to change in depreciation methodology)

In his message as part of the report, Mayor George Brticevic says:

“The prospect of more than 275,000 people expected to live in Campbelltown by 2036 has been a major catalyst in our efforts to prepare to meet the needs of our growing and diverse community.

“This continues to be a key focus as we work collaboratively with all levels of Government to ensure that Campbelltown continues to be a great place of opportunity and lifestyle.

“In April we launched the Re-imagining Campbelltown CBD Project. This draft strategy was developed in partnership with Deloitte to improve infrastructure, boost jobs growth and create a more liveable city – leveraging opportunities provided by the region’s growth over the next two decades.

“Campbelltown is a sporting community, and in keeping with that tradition we threw our hat into the ring to bid for an A-League team in the Macarthur region,’’ he said.

General manager Lindy Deitz said in her message: “The Western Sydney City Deal, announced in March will contribute to an exciting new future for Campbelltown and Western Sydney – providing new ways of connecting people and places, growing diverse local jobs and delivering high quality lifestyle opportunities.

“It is a 20 year agreement signed by the Australian and NSW Governments together with eight local councils, including Campbelltown, to dedicate planning and resources to the support the growth and infrastructure needs of our region.’’