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Photograph exhibition THE works of local artist Bronwyn Kidd will be displayed at the Frankston Arts Centre this month. Pictures such as her 1995 work Homage to John French No.1 (pictured) will be displayed. See story page 6. Picture: Supplied
CEO pay rises during pandemic Brodie Cowburn brodie@baysidenews.com.au A PANDEMIC and recession hasn’t stopped Frankston councillors from approving a pay rise for their CEO. Behind closed doors at their 31 August meeting, councillors endorsed a recommendation for CEO Phil Cantillon to receive a 3 per cent pay increase.
Frankston mayor Sandra Mayer said “this decision was about securing the knowledge, capability, and leadership Frankston City Council that residents need and deserve, particularly during and beyond COVID-19.” “The committee undertook extensive benchmarking prior to making the recommendation and determined that Mr Cantillon’s annual salary was noticeably lower than the industry standard,” she said. “As outlined in the
public meeting minutes, the resolution simply aligns his annual remuneration with that of CEOs from similar sized councils.” Phil Cantillon was appointed as Frankston Council’s chief executive last year after the departure of former CEO Dennis Hovenden. Council did not provide The Times with the CEO’s current salary, but it is understood that the previous CEO was paid more than $300,000 a year.
The pay rise comes amid a period of unprecedented financial difficulty for Frankston residents. A Grattan Institute study released in June found that 7.9 per cent of jobs in the local Dunkley electorate were lost as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, making the area among the hardest hit in the state (“Frankston hit hard by job losses”, The Times, 9/6/20). Frankston Council’s annual budget for the 2020/2021 financial year was
passed in June. It contained a 2 per cent rate rise for residents, and projected a $9.92 million surplus (“Ratepayers to fund $60 million in new works”, The Times, 9/6/20). Earlier this year, Frankston councillors approved a COVID-19 support package for residents worth over $6 million. A $200 rate waiver for ratepayers on JobSeeker payments was among the measures they approved.
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