THE current salary of an Ipswich City Councillor is $135,123 per annum and it’s clear that many ratepayers don’t believe they are getting value for money from their under-fire representative Jacob Madsen.
After being absent from Council for the first five weeks of this term (April 2 through May 5), including the Councillor induction program and post-election meeting on April 11, a number of questions have been asked of Cr Madsen, but many remain unanswered.
What does appear to be clear is that he is juggling his role as a councillor with a second job with the Department of Youth Justice.
When asked to give details of what the Department job entailed, Cr Madsen said:
“My other employment is as a youth worker in the youth justice system, as declared on my register of interests.
“These duties fit outside my full-time requirements as a councillor, so presently I am able to fulfill both.
“If this were to change, I would discontinue the other duties, as my main role and focus is as a councillor for the City of Ipswich.
“My local community remains of utmost importance to me.”
However, Local Ipswich News continues to receive Letters To The Editor, phone calls and messages questioning Cr Madsen’s commitment to his Council role.
A survey of local online news forums and social media shows that many ratepayers are doubting the Division One councillor’s level of commitment, with comments on the matter on social media surpassing 400 in the past week.
Mayor Teresa Harding also has concerns.
Cr Harding said the Local Government Act did not prohibit councillors from having other sources of income, including other employment, but given the growing population of the city, she believed the Ipswich community would see the role of a councillor as a full-time job.
“Councillors are certainly paid what most would consider a full-time wage,” she said.
“Council is funded by Ipswich ratepayers; therefore I think it is incredibly important that councillors are open and honest with the community if they have another job that may take time away from fulfilling their role as a councillor.”
Cr Harding said councillors were not compelled to declare how many hours they worked in another job unless there was a conflict of interest, but it was her personal view that they should be as transparent as possible regarding any roles they had that may impact their ability to represent their community.
Cr Madsen cited training commitments due to “professional development” as the reason for his absence at the first Council meeting of this term but failed to explain missing councillor training and other duties.
“Regarding professional development, there is no requirement for me to get approval if I am completing it external to Council, and I believe approval usually occurs where the Council is paying for it, which is not the case here,” he said.
“I’m responsible for my own professional development, and I’ve elected to undertake an operational role outside of Council to experience working under public policy. So far, it has been very beneficial.”
Several questions put to Cr Madsen by Local Ipswich News asking for comment on his ability to fulfill his councillor duties while holding a second job remain unanswered.
They included the number of hours worked in his second job and the date of recruitment.
