In the 2025 Annual Report, the CEO of CoPP states as one of his skill sets “performance, and business transformation and improvement.”

The CEO’s statement of course remains hard to reconcile against a number of performance measurement and comparative data gleaned from the audited financial accounts of the city of Port Phillip and comparison with audited statements from neighbouring councils. And then we have performance surveys which continue to paint the Copp’s performance in a less than flattering light. In affect the council demonstrates all the hall marks of inertia with a bloated structure- meaning monumental waste and a tax and spend mentality.

This tax and spend mentality has seen over the last three years (2023-2025) both revenue and expenditure growth substantially increase above the Consumer Price Index (CPI).

2023-2025	Increase
Revenue	16.7%
Expenditure	17.1%
Inflation	11.9%

 

If ever there was a time for the CEO to lead with his on view of his alleged skillset, it is now. A restructure of the City of Port Phillip, some 30 years post the council amalgamations is well overdue. If he wants to renew his contract in 2027, then the there is an expectation of performance which should include:

• Repurpose an inefficient structure,
• Streamlining the organisation in terms of accountability,
• Improved decision making and
• A lift in customer service.

All the above continues to remain woeful in our city. – And here are just a few examples to prove the point.

1. A Bloated Senior Management Staff Compared with Neighbouring Councils

In any normal organisation the staff pyramid should more or less look something like the following:

If we then look at the number of senior officers (Grade 7 &8 and above [$2,000-2,600 plus per week]) within the CoPP, the inverted pyramid of excessive managerial positions emerges very clearly.

Note: All figures have been extrapolated from audited CoPP financial report.

 

To confirm that the CoPP was an outlier, analysis was conducted through the audit financial reports for neighbouring municipalities. What is evident in comparison, is that the City of Port Phillip has a structure out of keeping with normal efficient business practice. Senior management positions comprise 42% of the CoPP structure. In comparison Stonnington, Bayside & Glen Eira have far few percentage of their full-time employees in the higher salary bands (22-27%) lower. Those councils in effect are managing a leaner and more pyramid type management structure as per a typical test book example.

Percentage of Staff on Grade 7 & 8 or above Salaries
Council	2023	2024	2025
City of Port Phillip	40%	41%	42%
Stonnington	25%	27%	27%
Bayside	27%	29%	26%
Glen Eira	19%	20%	22%

Note: All figures have been extrapolated from audited financial reports

 

2. Number of Staff per 1000 Residents

When we compare staff numbers per thousand with neighbouring councils, the CoPP has the highest ratio of overstaffing. This would suggest that the CoPP is less efficient in-service delivery especially when read in conjunction with the poor survey results.

Note: All figures have been extrapolated from audited financial reports

3. Average Salary Costs Higher in the CoPP

Higher average employee costs are symptomatic of the large cohort of managerial staff within the CoPP and is confirmed by the comparison of the higher average employee cost per staff member compared with neighbouring councils as seen below:

Note: All figures have been extrapolated from audited financial reports

High Council Rates Fund Bloated CoPP Bureaucracy

You may be asking how is this Council largess paid for? The answer is in your rates notice. City of Port Phillip rates area well in excess of neighbouring municipalities on comparable properties. – See Rates Calculator: https://ropp.org.au/property-rates-calculator-2/

It is beyond doubt that the level of rates charged in the City of Port Phillip is well in excess of neighbouring municipalities. Looking at the average house price in the CoPP of $1,670,000, (June 2025) comparable rates are as follows:

Comparing Rates on the Average House Price in CoPP
Council	$          1,670,000	Variance
City of Port Phillip	$                 3,306	0%
Stonnington	$                 2,089	-37%
Glen Eira	$                 2,309	-30%
Bayside	$                 2,665	-19%

 

The table above clearly shows that the equivalent home in Bayside, Glen Eira and Stonnington, have substantially lower council rates (19-37%) than the CoPP.

Summary

The stark conclusion is that in comparison with neighbouring councils:

• The CoPP has built up a staffing structure that is top heavy with
• An above average salary structure and a
• General overstaffing per head of local population.

AND

Even with this expensive overlay of staff, performance survey results remain disappointing. Putting it frankly, we are not getting any extra “bang for our buck”. The answer of course has never been about the need for high staff numbers; it’s about leadership and direction that differentiates a good organisation from a poor one. – Something that our Council appears to have been unable to grasp.

The CEO of the City of Port Phillip is paid somewhere between $420,000 and $430,000 per annum. For that investment we should be expecting heighted performance delivery and improved metrics that line up with neighbouring municipalities. Sadly, the CoPP does not strive for excellence or serious benchmarking – it has become a bureaucratic mediocrity relying on a lazy “tax and spend” approach to avoid tough decisions.

Currently on the metrics as outlined in this report, the value for money is clearly just not there. Its time for councillors to demand either better performance from their CEO or maybe commence the recruitment process for someone outside the organisation that can deliver a first-class financially disciplined council.