Council leave entitlements swell
EXCESS annual leave owed to Bunbury City Council workers has blown out to $382,835, having grown by $100,000 since the middle of 2013.
The latest report shows as of January, there were 65 council workers owed more than four weeks of leave, with nearly half working in the works and services department.
The situation could potentially hit the council's budget if there are mass resignations. Mayor Gary Brennan admitted the excess annual leave was an "unfunded liability" and said it was affordable for workers to have "no more than four weeks owing".
"The situation could occur, although it might be remote, that a number of staff leave in the same financial year who are owed a substantial amount of annual leave entitlement and that is unfunded," he said.
However, Mr Brennan said he was confident the situation was being handled by chief executive officer Andrew Brien, who manages council staff.
"It is good management practice to have your outstanding annual leave within a reasonable amount," Mr Brennan said.
"The strategy is for the chief executive to get that annual leave entitlement adjusted over the next 12 months to bring it within affordable levels."
The situation is being monitored by the council's audit committee, which receives regular reports detailing annual leave figures.
In a report to the council ahead of Tuesday's meeting, governance manager Greg Golinski said the reports would continue to be presented to the audit committee.
"The request from the audit committee to the chief executive officer to provide a list of accrued leave in excess of four weeks was made on October 30, 2014," he said.
"Processes have since been put into place for affected staff to either utilise leave or submit leave plans detailing how they intend on clearing leave balances in excess of their annual entitlements."
During Tuesday night's briefing session, Mr Brien told councillors he had the power to force employees to take annual leave but he preferred to negotiate with workers.
He also confirmed the council could pay out leave entitlements to workers.
