South Australia's ombudsman found a regional council committed mismanagement by giving its chief executive a council-issued fuel card when he was also being paid a vehicle and mileage allowance.
The chief executive of the unnamed council was being paid $15,000 a year, part of his salary to compensate him for not having a council car, according to the report by the ombudsman Wayne Lines.
He said the CEO was also claiming 77 cents a kilometre a kilometre he travelled for council business and could use a council-issued card to pick up his fuel bills.
Lines said the vehicle and mileage allowances were a particularly generous arrangement, but the fuel card was a duplication to cover the cost of petrol.
The CEO should have received one entitlement or the other should not, he said.
In 2015, the council passed a motion to allow the boss to be reimbursed at 77 cents per kilometre for his own car, which would cost the council less than $10,000 per year.
The Australian Tax Office recommended mileage rate was 68 cents per kilometre.
The chief executive's performance review report was put to the council for endorsement in 2018, which included the vehicle and mileage allowance, as well as a fuel card for business use only. The motion was put and lost, Mr Lines said.
The motion was changed to remove the reference to business use only, showing the intent of the elected members that the fuel card could be used for business and personal use, he said.
He said the chief executive was issued with a BP fuel card.
The report found in 2018 that the council passed a resolution to amend the mileage rate in line with the ATO recommendation, but the council administration continued to reimburse the chief executive at 77 cents per kilometre.
Lines stated he received $15,000 in mileage, claimed $18,188 in mileage and spent $6,155 on the fuel card in 2019.
He was assigned a council-owned car in October 2020.
Mr Lines found that the council acted in error by paying the chief executive a higher mileage rate between December 2019 and October 2020.
The chief executive told the ombudsman he needed to travel more in 2019, racking up 22,255 km for work and 8,606 km for private purposes.
The council was unable to provide a clear rationale as to why it decided to give the CEO a mileage allowance in circumstances where the CEO was already receiving a vehicle allowance, according to Mr Lines.
The council has not been able to provide a clear rationale as to why it introduced a fuel card, in addition to the two other allowances.