Brisbane City Council's so-called "future fund" returned a $26 million profit last financial year, largely through its commercial property investment portfolio, the Lord Mayor has announced.
The equity base of the City of Brisbane Investment Corporation has almost doubled in the five years since it was established, growing from $137 million in 2009 to its current $236.3 million, councillor Graham Quirk said at Tuesday's council meeting.
But the Labor opposition, which has consistently attacked the fund as an underperformer, said the $10 million dividend the fund returned to ratepayers last year was not enough to warrant the $320,000 paid in directors' fees.
The CBIC annual report reveals the fund made a 12.05 per cent investment return in 2013-14, which was slightly down on the previous year, when it delivered a 14.64 per cent, or $28.4 million return.
However, the $10 million investment dividend returned to ratepayers was almost double the $6 million returned in 2012-13.
The fund was established in 2009 as a means of bolstering Brisbane's future financial sustainability through a series of strategic investments.
Major milestones it achieved in 2013-14 were the $39 million sale of an office building at 157 Ann Street that temporarily housed council staff during the City Hall restoration and the $110 million sale of a Fortitude Valley office building at 15 Green Square Close.
It also acquired an office building in Bowen Hills, which will be partially leased to Transurban for use as the control centre of toll road Legacy Way, due to open early in 2015.
Among the other commercial and industrial properties owned by the CBIC are the Rivergate Shipyard in Murarrie, the South Regional Business Centre in Yeerongpilly and industrial properties in Cullen Avenue, Eagle Farm, and Industrial Avenue, Wacol.
The dividends returned by the fund are poured into services for Brisbane residents, Cr Quirk has previously told Fairfax Media, and this financial year also marked the first CBIC-negotiated "social dividend project" on the old Wynnum Central School site.
The entity negotiated a "self-funding" community library on the site that will be paid for by a major retailer that will also occupy the site.
"This provides a good example of CBIC working with council to improve community infrastructure, whilst achieving a return on the balance of the development," Cr Quirk said.
But Cr Dick questioned whether ratepayers were getting value for money.
He said CBIC chairman Mark Brodie was paid more than $76,000 to attend only eight meetings throughout the year.
"The average personal annual income of a person living in Brisbane is $36,192 but Mark Brodie was paid $76,440 as Chairman to attend eight meetings and a further eight board members were eligible for payments of up to $38,220," he said.
"These are ratepayer funds and ratepayers owned assets and much of the revenue into CBIC is through leasing space to Brisbane City Council.
"The Lord Mayor and his civic cabinet should do what they're paid to do; properly manage the city's finances and property without outsourcing this job to unelected board members at a huge cost."
