CEO (GM) salaries review:

An independent body would set the salaries of hundreds of general managers at local councils across NSW, in response to concerns some are too richly paid, under reforms being considered by the Berejiklian government. Ratepayers forked out between $205,000 and $633,852 for general managers at country and metropolitan local councils in the 2019-20 financial year, according to a consultation paper prepared for the NSW government. Local Government Minister Shelley Hancock said the review was aimed at tackling concerns incomes were too high, and had big disparities across the state, and that there was a widening gap over other worker salaries. The report says maintaining the status quo in NSW will allow councils to remain competitive with other sectors and to attract the “best possible” applicants. But it would not allay concerns there was a lack of consistency in salaries across the state, or address criticism managers were overpaid as many councils in NSW faced financial pressures.