We responded to an inquiry from the Geelong Advertiser regarding our employee costs, which are detailed in the Annual Financial Report 2020-21.
Chief Executive Officer Martin Cutter
The growth in population across the region is resulting in an increase in demand for services, which influences the makeup of our workforce as we respond to community need.We are proud that the City delivers an extensive range of services to the community and has supported jobs across the region, through our record capital works program.
Our employee costs came under budget in 2020-21.
Through our Transformation Program, the City is forecasting employee growth lower than average in the coming years due to projects that will drive productivity gains and create even better service delivery and responsiveness to our customers.
To deliver aspects of our Transformation Program, the City has recruited specialist senior officer roles.
These fixed term roles are delivering critical business improvement programs which will improve our services and save ratepayer money in the medium and long term, as we manage population growth and other pressures on our services.
The City is not alone in experiencing increased staff movement during the COVID-19 pandemic, with a noticeable global trend across many different industries.
The global impacts have led to many people reassessing their situations and prioritising increased time with family and personal projects.
The City has seen employees leave due to retirements, to pursue a change in career direction or to reduce their hours from full-time to part-time.
A number of senior officers departed, accessing departure entitlements and accrued leave balances.
The number of our key management personnel (KMP) rose by one, due to the election of a new Councillor in November 2020.
One KMP was made redundant during 2020-21. The combination of departure entitlements and accrued leave placed them into a higher remuneration bracket for the financial year.
