The Victorian government is being urged to investigate the City of Greater Geelong's recruitment of high-paid staff, amid accusations of nepotism and the risk of "soft corruption".
Financial documents have revealed the city's senior officer ranks, which include those paid more than $150,000 a year, jumped by 43 per cent in 12 months.
In 2020, 37 staff earned more than $150,000 per year, totalling $6.7 million.
That figure rose to 53 in 2021, and a wage bill of $10 million.
The city confirmed it had recruited for 70 senior officer positions since mid-2019, of which 10 were not publicly advertised — including six positions only advertised internally, three unadvertised "direct appointments" and one "agency worker … hired as an interim solution".
The council covers Victoria's second-largest city and its surrounds, with a budget of about $430 million to service its 270,000 residents.
The city is already under investigation over its recruitment of a new CEO, after the state's chief municipal inspector raised concerns the transparency and integrity of the process might have been compromised.
Concerns of nepotism already raised
One former staffer – who asked to remain anonymous – said they held concerns about the potential for nepotism since at least 2019 due to poor recruitment practices, claiming people were "just appearing" in high-paying roles.
Multiple former staffers told the ABC they held similar concerns.
The ABC understands the city's internal ombudsman in 2020 submitted a draft report directly to the state ombudsman examining recruitment of staff into the strategy, people and culture portfolio, raising concerns of nepotism.
The Victorian Ombudsman said they could neither confirm nor deny the existence of the report.
An updated city organisational structure shows the director of strategy, people and performance's portfolio now has 13 senior staff reporting to them, compared to seven or fewer in the four other directorships.
The previous director of that portfolio, Kaarina Phyland — who is now acting CEO — oversaw a recent review of the city's recruitment policy.
At least three current and former high-ranking staff under Ms Phyland are understood to have worked with her during her tenure as a head of human resources at RMIT, before moving across to work under her at the council.
Ms Phyland did not respond to the ABC's request for comment.
Requirement to publicly advertise jobs removed
The council rewrote its recruitment policy following changes to the Local Government Act in 2020.
The policy removed an obligation to publicly advertise senior officer positions and allowed the "direct appointment" of existing employees into vacant positions.
It is only "recommended" under the policy that some positions be externally advertised.
The latest version of the act removed the legal requirement to publicly advertise senior positions, instead requiring policies to "support … the public advertising of positions".
It is understood the council's easing of advertising requirements for senior staff is not considered typical in the sector, with neighbouring Surf Coast Shire and fellow regional centre the City of Greater Bendigo both requiring external advertising for any appointment of 12 months or more.
The city refused to share its recruitment policy with the ABC.
Instead, the ABC accessed the document via a Freedom of Information (FOI) process.
A 2021 report from the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC) found "nepotism in recruitment and promotion" as the corrupt behaviour considered to be the greatest risk of occurring across Victoria's public sector.
When asked about the increase in senior staff and concerns around nepotism, the city's chief people officer Monica Thomson said the city had "carried out a major transformation project" after it responded to recommendations made during the 2016 commission of inquiry.
Geelong council was sacked in 2016 following a three-month investigation which found a "deep-seated culture of bullying" across the organisation along with a host of further governance concerns.
"Integral to this work has been to identify and address capability gaps in corporate functions, with emphasis on recruitment of subject matter experts to help the organisation develop its strategic direction and deliver on our goals," Ms Thomson said.
Regarding the direct appointment of senior positions, Ms Thomson said there were "times when we need to take decisive action to meet the operational needs of the organisation to deliver for our community".
She also noted city employees taking part in recruitment processes must declare conflicts of interest.
Calls for government inquiry into 'soft corruption'
Ratepayers Victoria vice-president Dean Hurlston called on the government to launch an investigation into the city's recruitment of senior staff, warning nepotism was the most common form of "soft corruption" in local government.
"For a council that has made it difficult to obtain information about their recruitment process and policies, that's had a huge increase in executive paid staff, has had a municipal monitor appointed to oversee part of its recruitment process, had claims previously made to state oversight bodies around recruitment within the organisation," Mr Hurlston said, calling for the recruitment issue to be investigated.
Mr Hurlston warned nepotism was "one of the greatest risks within all councils".
"If there is something wrong with this [recruitment] process, there may be millions of dollars being used on positions that don't pass the pub test," he said.
"Are the people actually the right people for the role? Do they have the experience? Or are they appointed because they know somebody?"
Local Government Minister Melissa Horne did not respond to requests for comment regarding issues raised with the city's recruiting processes, with a government spokesperson instead providing a statement.
"The Chief Municipal Inspector is conducting an ongoing investigation into the City of Greater Geelong — we are unable to comment on active investigations by the Inspector," the spokesperson said.
"Municipal monitors are working with the City of Greater Geelong to support the appointment of a new Chief Executive Officer and good governance, and provide recommendations on any further action that may be needed."
