Council will employ nine full-time staff to assist councillors in their duties, reinstating the roles axed by former interim administrator Greg Chemello when divisional offices closed.

Ipswich City Councillors voted unanimously in favour of appointing one Senior Policy and Communications Officer, four Council Liaison Officers and four Executive Support and Research Officers to support them in their role of councillor among a raft of changes adopted in December.

Mayor Teresa Harding will also be supported with two extra staff including her own Senior Policy and Communications Officer and a Policy and Communications Officer.

The policy and communications positions for the Mayor and councillors are in addition to the council’s six media managers and officers working in the council’s media branch.

The councillor support staff are on a salary ranging from $77,540 to $97,660.

Changes to councillor policy meanwhile states that councillors must not deal with complaints from residents, from reporting a pothole to raising a local issue, but refer the inquiry to the council call centre to be dealt with by the relevant department.

The councillors are also advised on local government matters by Mr Chemello’s replacement as interim administrator, Steve Greenwood, who has stayed on under a 12-month contract and has already cost ratepayers $138,000 seven months into his role.

Mr Chemello had promised that scrapping divisional councillor offices in 2019 would save ratepayers about $2 million annually. 

The former council employed one electorate officer as support staff for each of the 10 councillors.

When the divisional offices closed, those staff were offered redeployment in other areas of the council.

The 10 divisional offices were replaced with three Ipswich City Council customer service centres within the libraries at Springfield central, Rosewood and Ipswich central with dedicated staff for residents and ratepayers to pay bills, submit paperwork, lodge complaints and engage with council officers. Those staff remain while the nine councillor support staff will work in the councillor offices in the South Street council building. 

A council spokesman said the level of support provided to councillors was in line with and lower than many other similar sized South East Queensland councils.

“Regardless of what policy that the interim administrator put in place, residents are enthusiastic about wanting to connect with their elected representatives and have them advocate on their behalf,” he said.

“This is what is occurring today and councillors have responded to that need.”