Anthony Schinck
PRIME Minister Julia Gillard gets paid $470,000 to run the country. So how much do Ballarat’s council officers get paid to run the city?
While Ballarat City Council chief executive officer Anthony Schinck’s pay was debated behind closed doors last week, a list of senior council officer salaries, without names included, has been revealed after a request from The Courier.
The list has a range of wage brackets and the number of senior council officers that are in each band.
The top-paid officer at the Ballarat Town Hall receives between $287,000 and $296,999 annually.
Another senior officer gets between $217,000 and $226,999 while there are two who earn between $187,000 and $196,999.
A further four are in the $177,000 to $186,999 bracket while six earn between $127,000 and $166,999.
Ballarat mayor Mark Harris said Mr Schink’s exact wage remained confidential for contractual reasons.
He also said Mr Schinck’s annual performance review was carried out by an external human resources consultant.
A five-councillor committee also meets quarterly to review the CEO’s work.
“We were disappointed when we first came in that the CEO’s performance reviews were not all that robust,” Cr Harris said.
“Now it’s more like what a normal commercial contract should be.”
Cr Harris said regular councillor surveys also fed back into the quarterly reviews, the results of which are then taken back to the entire nine-member council.
He said Mr Schinck also had to meet key performance indicators as part of his contract.
“We’ve got it back to a more standard contract.”
Cr Harris said Mr Schinck’s wage was based on a band system used by most municipalities.
“The top bands are in metropolitan councils with smaller ones in regional cities.”
Cr Harris said the council had worked hard to get Mr Schinck’s remuneration and performance review to an acceptable standard.
“We’ve invested a fair bit of time and we’ve got a good feedback loop going now,” he said.
“In the end, it’s not so much about paying the person but paying the position.”
Cr Harris said the review had been done now so the new council didn’t have to deal with it straight away.
Mr Schinck’s contract negotiations will begin in January.
“It gives time for the council to have a few months with the CEO and we’ve realigned it for that reason.
“However, they will also be in a good position if they wish to change CEOs.”
Cr Harris said he hoped the incoming council would continue with the regular CEO reviews.
“It’s pretty robust now.”
Mr Schinck did not wish to comment yesterday.
fiona.henderson@thecourier.com.au