Agenda of Council Meeting

Item No. 10

Agenda (Open Portion)

Council Meeting

Page 74

27/4/2020

Memorandum: Council

Financial Report and COVID-19 - City of Hobart Response

This report:

· Presents the Council’s Financial Report as at 31 December 2019 and seeks approval for a number of budget variations;

· Outlines events and actions taken in response to the Covid-19 pandemic in the period since March 2020 and impact on the Council’s financial position;

· Provides early indications of the likely impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the Council’s finances for 2020/21; and

· Makes recommendations for further community support as we move to recovery from the pandemic.

Financial Report as at 31 December 2019

· The Council’s Financial Report as at 31 December 2019 is at Attachment A.

· This is the first report produced from our new financial system, NAVision and would ordinarily have been presented to the March Finance and Governance Committee meeting

· As at December 2019, the revised forecast to 30 June 2020 was an underlying result in deficit of $1.89M, $2.44M less than the original budget and $2.3M less than the September forecast.

· The main reasons for this are:

o Increases to expected asset write-offs of $1M following a concerted effort to close out a significant backlog of projects undertaken over a number of years

o Increase in depreciation of $1.4M due to indexation and revaluations, significantly relating to storm water and rivulets asset classes.

o An unexpected workers compensation burner adjustment of $1.1M relating largely to three claims going back as far as 2016/17 in addition to three significant claims in the current financial year.

o Inclusion of 2018/19 operating carry forwards of $0.22M

· In response, action was taken to reduce expenditure to offset these increases

o This report seeks Council approval of revisions to original budget of some $1.8M, critical to address (in part) the forecast deficit.

o Further adjustments in expenditure would have been necessary in the remainder of the financial year to fully address the shortfall.
The Covid-19 situation however has overtaken this work and the City now requires significantly greater changes in financial arrangements for the balance of 2019/20 and beyond.

Council Response Covid-19 Pandemic

· At its meeting on 23 March 2020, the Council resolved its initial response to the Covid-19 emergency. A copy of the full Council resolution is at Attachment B. As part of that resolution, the following community support initiatives were approved, including to:

o Provide rental relief for the balance of the financial year for Council’s tenants experiencing financial hardship. (This was also subsequently applied to outdoor dining occupation licences)

o Defer penalties and interest for the fourth instalment of 2019/20 rates until 30 June

o Amendment to Council’s policy on rates postponement, which previously only applied to pensioners, to provide a mechanism for other ratepayers in financial distress to apply for a deferral of rates.
It should be noted that the Local Government Act 1993 already provides for any ratepayer to seek a remission of all or part of any rates paid or payable in accordance with the City’s Rates and Charges Policy.

o Initiatives to support local businesses and creative industries utilising funding allocated to this year’s Dark MoFo event ($190K in cash).

· Actions taken since the Council meeting include:

o Incident Management
Declaration of a State of Emergency by the Premier resulted in Council enacting its Emergency Management Plan and the establishment of an Incident Management Team. An Incident Action Plan has been documented and is reviewed and updated weekly. A summary of the Plan objectives and major actions is at Attachment C.

o Closures
A listing of Council service and venue closures is at Attachment D, and include Council Committee meetings, the Doone Kennedy Hobart Aquatic Centre, Salamanca Market, Tasmanian Travel Information Centre, Mathers House, Youth ARC, front of house customer service, playgrounds and sportsground bookings.

o Car Parking
Actions include extended time limits and grace periods applying to metered parking spots, closures and reduced hours of operation for City car parks and free and / or discounted parking for Royal Hobart Hospital, other DHHS, Ambulance Tasmania, SES, Tas Police and Australian Defence Force personnel.
There have also been 129 cancellations of long-term parking leases.

o Fees and Charges
The City has refunded fees and charges (or provided credits) on cancellations. Occupation licences for outdoor dining have been waived for the balance of the financial year and food licensing fees have been waived for six months.

o Planning Applications
Six planning applications have been approved by the Director City Planning under delegation. A full list of these decisions is at Attachment E.

o Staffing Arrangements
All casual and contract labour has been reviewed and all non-essential arrangements have been ceased. Recruitment has been ceased, other than for critical roles and stand down arrangements are being implemented for the DKHAC.
Redeployment opportunities are being actively pursued where possible and quiet time while facilities are closed is being used to conduct much needed maintenance tasks.
Unfortunately despite lobbying by the sector, Job Keeper provisions are not available to local government employees.
Some 140 employees are working from home with full access to the City’s systems and with agreed work plans.
Guidelines and standard operating procedures have been developed to manage the health and safety of employees in the office and in the field including customer visits and inspections, use of vehicles etc.

o Rates Postponement Policy
The policy has been amended as resolved by Council.

o Financial Hardship Policy
A draft has been prepared in concert with LGAT and other Councils and was reviewed by Council’s internal auditors Wise Lord & Ferguson. The draft is presented at Attachment F for Council consideration.
Principles underpinning the policy include:

§ consistent, equitable, flexible and respectful treatment of all ratepayers;

§ maintaining Council’s ability to provide essential services;

§ assisting ratepayers who are suffering serious financial hardship; and

§ ensuring that those able to contribute, continue to do so.

o Rent relief for Council Tenants
To-date we have received 19 enquiries with 11 receiving full rent relief for the period through to 30 June 2020. The remainder are currently being assessed.

o e-commerce grant
This quick response grant has commenced with over 40 retail related small business receiving $300 each to support them to utilise an on-line trading platform. $30,000 has been allocated to this program from the $190,000 Dark Mofo funding.

o Business and Creative Industries Grants
Officers are consulting with small business operators and stakeholders as to the most effective use of the remaining Dark Mofo money which will be made available as a business and creative industries grants program before the end of the financial year.

o Community Grants
Council will be aware that the February round of the Community Grants program was suspended due to Covid-19 and the fact that applications submitted would have been unable to be implemented as envisaged. Accordingly there is the possibility to offer a Covid-19 focused community grants program in the remainder of this financial year should Council wish to do so utilising a proportion of the unallocated February grants round. A delegation is sought in this report for the General Manager to proceed with such a program at the appropriate time.

o Hobart Together
The City has updated its website with specific advice using the “Resilient Hobart” banner, including tailored messaging under the title “Hobart Together” which encourages our community to stay connected, creative and kind.

o State Government Assistance Package
Following lobbying at local government sector level, the State Government has increased its assistance package for local government from $50M to $150M in interest free loans and has expanded potential uses for the loans. There is no indication that the program will provide grants.

o Covid-19 Reference Group
The General Manager has consulted routinely three times per week, and additionally as required, with elected members on the Council established Covid-19 Reference Group. The Group has provided valuable support and advice to the General Manager and are thanked for their input.

Financial Impact of Covid-19 on Council Operations 2019/20 Financial Year

· The financial situation has changed dramatically since the advent of COVID-19 - revenue has been significantly impacted, with parking in particular anticipating a large loss. In summary, anticipated losses of revenue to 30 June 2020 include:

Item	Amount
Parking	$3.8M - $4.5M
Doone Kennedy Hobart Aquatic Centre	$1.495M
Salamanca Market	$208K
Rents/Occupation Licences	$441K
Other Fees and Charges	$254K
TOTAL	$6.19M - $6.89M

· Rates

o As at 22 April 2020, some $5.5M was outstanding in unpaid rates, of which $3.9M relates to the fourth instalment, so post the Covid-19 emergency.

o This is $1.9M behind the City’s income for the same period in 2019.

o Waiving of penalties and interest on the fourth instalment will mean that some rates payments will be delayed until 30 June 2020, so it is anticipated some further payments will be made by that date.

o The usual reminder letters which would normally be issued at the end of April, will be replaced with a supportive letter from the General Manager encouraging ratepayers to make payments if they can and providing advice for those who cannot given their financial situation.

o It is anticipated however that given financial difficulties being faced by many in our community, there will be a significant shortfall in the expected rates income received this financial year.

· In order to manage the issues with cash flow resulting from these significant drops in revenue, the capital works program has been reviewed, operational expenditure significantly reduced and a loan previously approved by Council for 2019/20 of $20M has been taken up.

· While we believe these actions will provide a sufficient cash flow until 30 June 2020, we will provide further advice on the impact on the Council’s overall financial position for 2019/20 at the 25 May Council meeting.

Draft 2020/21 Budget

· Council would be aware that officers had commenced drafting the 2020/21 budget prior to the Covid-19 emergency. This is now being totally redrafted.

· In order to do this, we have commenced with attempting to estimate revenue reductions. Assuming major impact ongoing in the first quarter, but easing in Quarter 2, we estimate as follows:

o A 40 per cent reduction in parking revenue including on and off street parking fees and charges and fines and long-term leases

o 25 per cent reduction in rents

o 50 per cent reduction in the Tas Water dividend

o 27 per cent reduction in other fees and charges, including DKHAC, TTIC, Taste, Salamanca market, planning, building and compliance, landfill, parks hire fees etc

· The total is estimated at $17M, and is hopefully the worst case scenario. The final outcome is uncertain to say the least and will be determined by how quickly the City returns to ‘normal’.

· In addition, it is anticipated that there will be a reduction in rates income received, due to financial hardship in the community, whether this be resulting from postponements or remissions.

o Modelling based on this impacting largely on particular property types (accommodation, arts and galleries, bars, cafes, restaurants, shops etc) in the commercial sector together with a more limited impact on residential, indicates a potential rates shortfall in Quarter 1 of $4.6M.

· Based on this anticipated revenue scenario, officers have now undertaken a high level review of proposed operating expenditure for 2020/21, removing from the draft budget all expenditure regarded as discretionary.

o Items removed include all travel and accommodation, new positions, other than critical roles, non-mandatory training, special projects and initiatives which can be deferred, as well reductions in events and grants funding.

· The previously approved capital works program has also been reviewed with projects pushed out in time and a focus on the essential asset replacement program.

· Of course, the Council will be presented with the full Estimates proposal in late May when the Council will make the final determination about what items and projects are included or not.

· The purpose of this exercise is to be able to present the Council with a realistic budget in the known circumstances.

· It is clear however that borrowing will be required both to balance the budget in light of revenue reductions and to maintain cash flow until income streams start to pick up (potentially November 2020) when the second rates instalment is due).

· The Council’s Long Term Financial Management Plan did provide for borrowings of $15M in 2020/21.

o Our initial assessment is that greater borrowings will be required and will be required to be taken up early in the financial year to offset revenue losses and maintain cash flow.

o Recommendations on the extent of borrowings will be put to Council for consideration as part of the Estimates process and will be subject to Treasury benchmarks and other existing lenders’ requirements.

o In addition to officers’ modelling and advice it is intended to seek an independent peer review of the impact of recommended borrowings on the Council’s long-term financial sustainability.

· Given the timing of application dates, an application for the State Government’s $150M interest free loans scheme for local government has been submitted in partnership with the other three southern metropolitan Councils.

o As part of this initial expression of interest, the City of Hobart has nominated infrastructure projects estimated to cost $24.5M as well as and $4.6M for rates relief. A full list of submitted projects is at Attachment G.
The submission will obviously be subject to assessment and approval or otherwise by the State Government. The final amounts taken up however will need to be approved by the Council as part of the Estimates consideration.

o This is in addition to projects nominated in a response to a letter from the Hon Michael McCormack MP, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development received earlier this month requesting a list of land transport infrastructure projects for which construction could commence or be brought forward in the next three to six months. A full list of these projects is at Attachment H.

· As outlined above, Council will consider the full Estimates draft in late May.

Ongoing Community Support Package

· It is envisaged that in addition to maintaining its key services for the City, the Council will also be looking to support its community through the recovery process.

o In a letter (dated 16 April) to all Mayors and General Managers the Premier and Minister for Local Government dated advised that:
It is vital that all councils agree to measures including rate increase freezes and generous hardship policies. These measures will provide much needed relief to Tasmania’s local businesses and rate payers and send a strong message that all levels of government are playing their part to support the community at this unprecedented time.
A full copy of the letter is at Attachment I.

· To this end officers are seeking guidance from the Council in relation to the following proposed community support package of initiatives commencing 1 July 2020. It is intended that officers would then use this as a basis for preparing the draft Estimates for Council consideration:

o A freeze on the general and service rates, so 0.0 per cent increase for 2020/21. Rates means general rate, fire levy (already frozen by the State Government) and storm water rate.
The Council also has a number of fixed charges for landfill, waste, green waste and FOGO. These are calculated on the basis of cost of the service. In 2020/21 additional costs for recycling are likely to impact the waste levy and Council has an existing decision about cost of FOGO increasing from $50 to $60 per service and being combined with the green waste charge.

o A freeze on other Council fees and charges, so 0.0 per cent increase.
In light of this it is proposed that the Council delegate to the General Manager the authority to set the Council’s fees and charges for 2020/21, given they will be the same as for 2019/20.

o Rates relief support package including waiving penalties and interest, negotiated payment plans, formal postponements and remissions on application and determined on a case by case basis in accordance with the City’s Financial Hardship policy.

o In order to facilitate administration of the rates relief package, it is proposed that the Council provide a delegation to allow the General Manager to approve rates remissions up to a maximum dollar value, and suggesting $10K. Any rates remission over that limit would be by approval of an absolute majority of the Council in accordance with section 129 of the Local Government Act 1993.
The delegation is appropriate and consistent with section 22 of the Local Government Act 1993 as the council has appropriate policies and procedures in place.
All rate remissions are reported to Council on a six monthly basis and are recorded in the Council’s Annual Report.

o Rent relief support package for the City’s tenants with payment plans developed on application and in accordance with the principles of the Financial Hardship policy. This component will also be informed by the proposed Commercial Tenancy Code legislation expected to be presented to the Tasmanian Parliament at the end of April.

o A one-off Covid 19 community and business grants program utilising funding that would have ordinarily been made available through the various community grants streams of the City.

o Development and enactment of long term social and economic recovery plans, including specifically, the establishment of the business continuity and resilience committee as approved by the Council on 23 March at the appropriate time.

City Government Arrangements

· While social distancing requirements remain in place it is proposed that Council Committees remain in abeyance with the next Council meeting likely to occur on 25 May 2020.

REcommendation

That:

1. That the information be received and noted.

2. The Council note the Financial Report as at 31 December 2019 and approve the changes to the 2019/20 Estimates listed in tables 4,5,7 and 9 of Attachment A, the financial impacts of which are to decrease the underlying result by $2.3M to a deficit of $1.89M.

3. The Council note the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the Council’s financial position in the period since 31 December 2019 and note and endorse actions taken by the General Manager in responding to the Covid-19 emergency.

4. The Council note actions taken in response to the Council resolution of 23 March 2020 as outlined in this report and specifically reaffirm its approach to deal with financial hardship in the community in the period through until 30 June 2020, as resolved at that meeting.

5. The Council authorise the General Manager to offer a Covid-19 focused community grants program at the appropriate time in the remainder of this financial year utilising a proportion of unallocated February 2020 community grants round funding.

6. The council approve the City of Hobart Financial Hardship Assistance Policy as at Attachment F to this report.

7. The Council note the submission of an application in partnership with the other three Hobart metropolitan councils to the State Government’s $150m interest free loans scheme for local government. The final amount to be taken up will be the subject of Council consideration as part of the formal Estimates process for 2020/21.

· Advice in relation to borrowings will be based on modelling of the impact on Council’s long-term financial sustainability including an independent review of this modelling.

8. The Council note the likely impacts on its revenue in 2020/21 as outlined in this report.

9. The Council further note that the draft Estimates, including a revised capital works program and operating budget will be presented to Council for consideration in late May reflecting these circumstances.

10. The Council approve the following elements of a Community Support package to commence on 1 July 2020 to be used by officers as the basis for preparation of the draft Estimates:

· A zero per cent increase to the general and service rates excluding fixed service charges including waste management, green waste (including FOGO) and landfill rehabilitation, which will be considered on the basis of service cost.

· A policy of zero per cent increase on other Council fees and charges.
In light of this policy, given they will be the same as for 2019/20, Council delegate, pursuant to section 22 of the Local Government Act, to the General Manager the authority to set the Council’s fees and charges for 2020/21.

· Rates relief support package including waiving penalties and interest, negotiated payment plans, formal postponements and remissions on application and determined on a case by case basis in accordance with the City’s Financial Hardship policy (above)

· To this end, the Council delegate, pursuant to section 22 of the Local Government Act, to the General Manager the power to approve rates remissions up to a limit of $10,000 with remissions above that limit being approved by absolute majority of the Council, noting that all rate remissions are reported six monthly to the Council and are recorded as a grant / benefit in the Council’s Annual Report.

· Rent relief support package for the City’s tenants with payment plans developed on application and in accordance with the principles of the Financial Hardship policy and future commercial tenancy legislation.

· A one-off Covid-19 community and business grants program utilising the funding that would have ordinarily been made available through the various community grants streams of the City

· Development and enactment of long term social and economic recovery plans, including specifically establishment of the business continuity and resilience committee as approved by the Council on 23 March 2020 at the appropriate time.

11. The Council continue to authorise the General Manager to take all further actions necessary to address the Covid-19 pandemic.

12. The Council pursuant to Section 6(3) of the Land Use Planning and Approvals Act 1993, delegate the General Manager and Director City Planning to determine all applications that would otherwise be determined by the City Planning Committee or the full Council unless called in by an Elected Member for the period from 28 April to 25 May inclusive.

13. The Council note that the next scheduled Council meeting will be 25 May 2020 and that Council Committee meetings remain suspended.

As signatory to this report, I certify that, pursuant to Section 55(1) of the Local Government Act 1993, I hold no interest, as referred to in Section 49 of the Local Government Act 1993, in matters contained in this report.

Nick heath

N D Heath

General Manager

Date: 22 April 2020

File Reference: F20/39351

Attachment a: City of Hobart Financial Report as at 31 December 2019 ⇩

Attachment b: Council Resolution of 23 March 2020 ⇩

Attachment c: Incident Management Plan Objectives and Major Actions ⇩

Attachment d: Service and Venue Closures ⇩

Attachment e: Planning Applications Determined Under Delegation since 23 March 2020 ⇩

Attachment f: Draft Financial Hardship Assistance Policy ⇩

Attachment g: City of Hobart Projects Submitted under the Local Government Loans Program ⇩

Attachment h: Draft Hobart City Council Local Government Land Transport Infrastructure Projects March 2020 ⇩

Attachment i: Premier Gutwein and Minister Shelton letter to Tasmanian Councils - COVID-19 Relief ⇩

Agenda (Open Portion)

Council Meeting

Page 122

27/04/2020

11. Motions of which notice has been given

IN ACCORDANCE WITH REGULATION 16(5) OF THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT (MEETING PROCEDURES) REGULATIONS 2015

11.1 Employee Resources - COVID-19

File Ref: F20/37799; 13-1-9

Aldermen Briscoe, Zucco, Thomas, Behrakis and Councillor Coats

Motion:

“In the interests of maintaining the city in good condition and providing safety for residents and businesses during the COVID-19 crisis that:

(1) The Council suggests to the General Manager to consider to redeploy employees whose duties have reduced during the crisis (such as the parking and information officers) to be the known as “Lookouts” to patrol regularly and report to appropriate authorities graffiti, anti-social behaviour, hooning or damage to residences or businesses.

(2) The Council suggests to the General Manager to consider employment of further security officers to patrol the city at night in cooperation with the police.”

Rationale:

“In the interests of maintaining the city in good condition and providing safety for residents and businesses during the COVID-19 crisis, the motion is submitted as a suggestions for staff redeployment and is largely self-evident.”

The General Manager reports:

“In line with the Council’s policy in relation to Notices of Motion, I advise that the matter is considered to be within the jurisdiction of the Hobart City Council and the suggestions in the Notice of Motion are welcome.

Officers who have had hours reduced during the COVID-19 crisis have been redeployed to a number of tasks, including asset identification, reporting graffiti and faults, maintenance and cleansing. The People and Capability Unit is also maintaining a register of all circumstances where employees are either under or over-utilised as a result of the pandemic. Attempts are made to match operational requirements with the skill sets of the employees.

Tasmania Police have advised that there are no emerging anti-social issues throughout the city. Tasmania Police are actually reporting a drop in shop theft reports, which is to be expected with a down turn in customers and stores being closed. We will remain in close contact with Tasmania Police and be in a position to respond if requested.

Finally, by way of information, the Council’s City Cleansing Unit has advised that graffiti tag removal over recent months has generally remained constant over the last three months; see below:

§ January – 438 tags

§ February – 564 tags

§ March – 402 tags”

11.2 Support for International Students - COVID-19 Pandemic

File Ref: F20/38739; 13-1-9

Councillor Sherlock, Alderman Thomas, Councillor Dutta and Lord Mayor Reynolds

Motion:

“This motion seeks the City of Hobart to:

1. Publicly recognise the enormous contribution economically and socially of our international students.

2. Work with relevant organisations including education providers, peak bodies and student services to provide increased support for international students during the COVID-19 pandemic.

3. Lobby the State and Federal Government to establish or support the establishment of a hardship fund to support international students to which contributions can be made by the public and private sector, organisations and education institutions from the City of Hobart during the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Rationale:

“Many international students in our community have lost their jobs and are falling through the cracks, as they are not eligible for government support. Many of our international student’s livelihood and wellbeing has been impact by COVD-19 and by the decision of the Federal Government to not support a cohort of our community that makes significant contributions to it. International students have been contributing to not only our economy, but to our City and our society. Hobart has a disproportionate number of international students to our total population, with at any one time over 13,000 students studying in Hobart and either living in the city or in greater Hobart.

The City of Melbourne became the first government at any level in Australia to initiate financial support for international students amid fears that they have been forgotten by the Federal Government. Likewise, Queensland’s International Education and Training Advisory Group has encouraged a national hardship fund to be set up to help international students during the crisis, students who have been overlooked by government assistance packages.

With the PM Scott Morrison unapologetically stating that “if they're not in a position to be able to support themselves, then there is the alternative for them to return to their home countries. At this time, Australia must focus on its citizens and its residents to ensure that we can maximize the economic supports that we have.” This stance clearly undermines the value and contribution of international students to our communities; therefore, something must be initiated at the grassroots level to support international students, who are a part of our society.”

The General Manager reports:

“In line with the Council’s policy in relation to Notices of Motion, I advise that the matter is considered to be within the jurisdiction of the Hobart City Council as it relates to the Council’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The actions suggested within the motion, particularly to lobby the State and Federal Governments to establish a hardship fund to support international students, do not have any resourcing implications for the Council. It should be noted that as the Council does not have deductible gift recipient (DGR) status it would therefore be unable to receive tax deductible gifts.”

11.3 Elected Member Allowances

File Ref: F20/39563

Lord Mayor Reynolds and Councillor Sherlock

Motion:

“That Council:

1. Notes the financial hardship being experienced by many residents and Hobart businesses as a result of the COVID19 crisis, and also the City’s own budget challenges due to a significant downturn in operating revenue.

2. Requests all elected members take a voluntary 20% reduction in their allowances for up to 6 months.

3. Encourages the General Manager to consider similar voluntary salary reductions for the Executive Leadership Team of the City.”

Rationale:

“The financial crisis being felt by many residents and businesses in the City of Hobart is significant. It is important for community and organisational leaders to show leadership and solidarity at this time of need.

The motion suggests this be a voluntary step, because the allowance payable to the City of Hobart elected members is set by the State Government. It is also an amount that elected members depend upon, to a greater or lesser degree, for their weekly household income.

This motion acknowledges that the City of Hobart itself is facing a significant financial hit and will need to adapt to substantial decline in revenue with major cuts in expenditure.

The City of Adelaide elected members agreed to a similar motion on 14 April 2020, although for 3 months only. The Government of New Zealand also recently agreed to a 20% cut in salary for its Ministers and Departmental Heads for 6 months, noting that these national MPs are on more significant salaries.

The General Manager and Executive Team can be encouraged but not directed by the Council on this matter.”

The General Manager reports:

“For background information, elected members allowances are provided for in the Local Government Act 1993 and the Local Government (General) Regulations 2015; the attached information sheet from the Local Government Division refers.

Section 340A of the Local Government Act 1993 states:

(1) A councillor is entitled to prescribed allowances.

(2) A mayor and deputy mayor are entitled to prescribed allowances in addition to any allowances referred to in subsection (1) .

(2A) Allowances are to be paid in arrears.

(3) A councillor, mayor or deputy mayor may decide not to receive part or all of an allowance.

(4) A decision under subsection (3) is to be by written notice to the general manager of the relevant council.

(5) Councillors who are suspended under section 28ZI(2)(e) or section 215(5) or section 214O are not entitled to any allowances during the period of suspension.

(6) A person who must not perform any function or exercise any power of a councillor under section 339C is not entitled to any allowances.

Executive salaries are set through a contract of employment and were externally benchmarked by Mercer following the 2019 organisational restructure.

Section 63 of the Local Government Act 1993 states:

(1) The general manager of a council may –

(a) appoint persons as employees of the council; and

(b) allocate duties to employees; and

(d) suspend or dismiss employees.

(2) The general manager is to develop human resource practices and procedures in accordance with policies of the council to ensure employees of the council receive fair and equitable treatment without discrimination.”

Attachment a: Elected Member Allowances