Wattle Range Council chief executive Ben Gower has again been rated highly by staff and elected members in his annual performance review.

A sub-committee of council was assisted by an Adelaide-based consultant and their recommendations were endorsed during a closed section of the August monthly council meeting.

Mr Gower was awarded a 5.2% pay rise and this is in line with other Wattle Range Council staff.

A confidential staff report was tabled at the August meeting and revealed strong support for Mr Gower.

The Performance Review Committee was appointed in April and comprised Mayor Des Noll and four of the five Corcoran wared representatives: Peter Dunnicliff, Moira Neagle, John Drew and David Walshaw.

Some council staff were surveyed along with all 12 elected members.

“The scoring was consistent and the commentary that was provided was constructive and positive,” the staff report stated.

“Overall, participants feel fortunate to have a council chief executive of this calibre with his leadership, resilience, openness and honesty and feel he is an asset to Wattle Range Council.

“They feel Mr Gower’s direction and communication is clear and genuine and that he immerses himself in the community and has the community’s interests at the heart of his decisions.

“Mr Gower’s overall performance was measured as Above Expectations.”

Mr Gower was appointed to the administrative helm of council in 2016 and an annual performance review is part of his contract.