Cr McIntosh’s overall spend for the year was slightly more than any mayor in recent times. Her expenses for 2017/18 totaled $24,458, with $16,836 spent on travel. 

In September last year, Cr McIntosh and City of Ballarat CEO Justine Linley spent $15,000 on business class seats for travel to Bursa, Turkey for the World League of Historical Cities board meeting.

The details of councillor reimbursements were revealed in City of Ballarat’s 2017/2018 Annual Report released on Thursday.  

In 2016/17, where she was elected mayor in November 2016, she spent $10,017 in total, and only spent $3,830 on travel. 

Current councillor Des Hudson spent $23,442 in total during 2015/16, with $19,408 of that on travel. He was elected to the role of mayor in November 2015. 

Former mayor John Philips claimed $16,303 for travel in 2015/16. In that financial year, Mr Philips was only mayor for four and a half months, before Cr Hudson was voted in. Mr Philips spent $21,095 in total in 2015/16, and $11,108 in 2014/15.  

Cr McIntosh argued the mayoral spends were comparable over the years, and stated she had attended over 900 events during the last financial year.

Questions around international travel were again raised in September this year, when councillors complained they had not been adequately briefed on a multi-country European jaunt.

The detailed itinerary, which included Paris, Cornwall and Bath, was released to councillors less than 48 hours before Cr McIntosh left the country. 

“Being the mayor of one of Australia’s largest regional cities requires me to represent Ballarat far and wide, and that includes globally,” Cr McIntosh said in a statement.  

“For example, hundreds of thousands of dollars of economic benefit to Ballarat and region will flow from the recent trip to Europe and I will be very excited and proud to present those amazing outcomes in a comprehensive report very shortly.”

Of the current councillor group, South Ward Cr Ben Taylor accrued the second highest expenses for the financial year at $8808. Most of his expenses ($7744) went toward training and conferences. 

Cr Taylor was followed by Cr Jim Rinaldi (5851), Cr Hudson ($5075), Cr Amy Johnson ($3904), Cr Belinda Coates ($3843), Cr Daniel Moloney ($3237) and Cr Mark Harris ($1532). 

Cr Grant Tillett recorded the lowest expenses, at $1073, only claiming “Information and Communication” expenses, understood to include mobile phone costs. 

The municipality has a reporting requirement under the Local Government (Planning and Reporting) Regulations 2014 to release details of councillor remuneration and expenses annually.

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