As Hawkesbury residents prepare for a cumulative 39.41% increase in council rates over four years, an independent review commissioned by the Hawkesbury Gazette has raised questions about the growth in employee costs at Hawkesbury City Council and the role those costs may be playing in the Council's long-term financial challenges.
The review, prepared by retired IBM Senior Consultant and business analyst Bob Gribbin, argues that staffing costs have risen significantly faster than population growth and inflation in recent years, warranting greater scrutiny when assessing the need for additional rate revenue.
Mr Gribbin's report is part of a detailed examination of the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal's (IPART) decision to approve Hawkesbury City Council's Special Rate Variation application.
According to the report, employee costs have risen by about 44 per cent since 2018, while Council's workforce has also expanded over the same period. Mr Gribbin argues that this growth occurred despite previous Special Rate Variations and raises questions about whether sufficient productivity improvements have been achieved.
The report also notes that employee expenses rose by about 9.7 per cent over a single year, substantially exceeding inflation and population growth.
More Staff, More Costs
One of the central questions raised in the report is whether Hawkesbury's growing wage bill reflects increased service delivery, regulatory obligations and community expectations, or whether structural inefficiencies have contributed to rising costs.
Councils across New South Wales have faced increasing demands in recent years, including compliance obligations, disaster recovery responsibilities, environmental management, cybersecurity requirements, and growing community expectations for service delivery.
At the same time, ratepayers expect councils to demonstrate that additional staffing leads to measurable improvements in services and outcomes.
Mr Gribbin argues that IPART's assessment gave insufficient attention to this issue and relied heavily on information provided by Council on efficiency improvements and workforce requirements.
What Did IPART Find?
In approving the Special Rate Variation, IPART accepted Council's argument that additional revenue is needed to address infrastructure backlogs, maintain assets and improve long-term financial sustainability.
However, critics argue that financial sustainability cannot be assessed solely by examining revenue. Expenditure growth also matters.
The review notes that while significant attention was given to Council's revenue shortfall and infrastructure needs, less attention appears to have been directed towards understanding why operating costs, particularly employee costs, have grown so substantially.
A Question for Ratepayers
The issue is not unique to the Hawkesbury. Across Australia, councils are grappling with rising labour costs, skills shortages and increasingly stringent regulatory requirements.
Yet for many residents facing cost-of-living pressures, the question remains simple:
Before ratepayers are asked to contribute significantly more revenue, should councils be required to demonstrate that their existing resources are used as efficiently as possible?
Mr Gribbin's report suggests that stronger productivity targets and independent assessment of efficiency measures should be part of future Special Rate Variation applications. He argues that accountability for expenditure growth should sit alongside discussions of revenue growth.
The Bigger Debate
The debate is not simply about wages. Most residents accept that councils require qualified staff to deliver services, manage infrastructure and respond to emergencies.
The broader question is whether increases in staffing and employee costs are producing outcomes that residents can see and measure.
As Hawkesbury embarks on another period of substantial rate increases, ratepayers may reasonably ask not only how much more money Council needs, but also how effectively current resources are being used.
Download the Report
The Hawkesbury Gazette commissioned retired IBM Senior Consultant and Hawkesbury ratepayer Bob Gribbin to undertake an independent review of IPART's determination.
The full report, Matters Raised in My Submission That IPART's Final Report Did Not Address, is available for download from the Hawkesbury Gazette website. Readers are encouraged to review the report and draw their own conclusions regarding the Special Rate Variation and Council's financial management.
Related stories
Did IPART ask the right questions before approving the Council rate rise?
Can Council be trusted with more money?
