After some trimming and belt-tightening during the recession, the City of Richmonds wage bill has crept up again.
And the number of the citys top brass in the $200,000 plus bracket has edged higher once more from two in 2010 to five last year.
The number of employees breaching the $100,000 barrier has also risen, from 94 in 2010 to 103 in 2011.
Its not surprising then that, according to the latest financial statements released, the citys total wage bill for 1,916 employees, before benefits and expenses, increased by more than $4 million between 2010 and 2011 to $100.8 million.
The citys top earner chief administration officer George Duncan grossed $278,300 and another $28,205 in benefits last year. This compares to $267,000 and $16,000 in benefits in 2010.
Hes followed in the salary stakes by Mike Kirk, Duncans deputy, on $210,000 and another $33,533 in benefits.
Also above $200,000 were: Phyllis Carlyle, the citys law and community safety manager; Joe Erceg, planning and development manager and Andrew Nazareth, general finance manager.
The number of city employees earning more than $75,000 has to be declared public by the city.
Those earning more than $75,000 last year rose significantly to 494, from 433 in 2010.
However, the total amount of expenses claimed was down significantly, from $1,259,472 in 2010 to $857,677 last year.
Included in the 2011 wage bill was $1.7 million in leave payouts, primarily due to the retirement of long service staff, according to the financial report.
According to the same report, Greg Scott, the citys director of project development, claimed the most expenses last year at $11,782.
