Advertisement

$208k average pay “restrained”, say councils

Feb 26, 2015
LGA president David O'Loughlin. Photo: Nat Rogers/InDaily

LGA president David O'Loughlin. Photo: Nat Rogers/InDaily

Onkaparinga Council CEO Mark Dowd’s total remuneration package jumped almost $32,000 to $291,962 in the past year, while Adelaide chief Peter Smith’s remained unchanged on $398,000.

On average, South Australian council CEO salaries rose by 2.75 per cent in 2014, down from 3.17 per cent in 2013.

But according to a new report, they remain lower than comparable state, federal and private salaries.

LGA President and Prospect Mayor David O’Loughlin insisted wage growth had been “restrained”.

“Councils manage community infrastructure valued at more than $20 billion across the state, a combined annual expenditure of about $2 billion and more than 10,000 staff,” he said.

“(They) take appropriate steps – engaging independent advice – when setting salaries to ensure they are kept at levels appropriate to attract and maintain the expertise required.”

He said a Local Government Association survey of its CEOs’ salaries, conducted by consulting firm AME Recruitment, proves the “average council CEO salary in South Australia falls well behind interstate CEO salary packages and those of State Government business entities and the not for profit sector”.

As of January, the average total salary package (comprised of base salary, super and a motor vehicle) for CEOs of all 68 SA councils was $208,654, up from $202,342 the previous year.

The report compares that to a two per cent remuneration increase for public sector executives and State Government business entity CEOs, three per cent in the not-for-profit sector and “between three and four per cent per annum” in the private sector nationally, “with general constraint being commonplace in many companies for the past three to four years, driven primarily by subdued economic climate”.

The average CEO salary in the so-called “G6” group of councils (Charles Sturt, Marion, Salisbury, Onkaparinga, Port Adelaide Enfield and Tea Tree Gully), together with the Adelaide City Council, is $308,379.

Across the other metro councils, the average is $253,915.

Across the state’s major regional councils, the average CEO’s package is worth $200,794.

The remuneration average is brought down by the survey’s inclusion of small regional councils, whose CEOs take home a package worth $151,284.

Read the full benchmarking report and find your CEO’s salary package here.

Local News Matters
Advertisement
Copyright © 2024 InDaily.
All rights reserved.