The CEO of a NSW council covering a large portion of the state’s south coast has resigned as a deepening financial crisis is expected to result in more job cuts.
Patricia White announced Chief Executive Officer Robyn Stevens had resigned at Wednesday night’s ordinary meeting. (ABC Illawarra: Romy Gilbert)
Shoalhaven City Council is facing an operating deficit of more than $37 million after a series of climate emergencies from bushfires and floods resulting in widespread damage to critical infrastructure such as roads and creeks.
The United Services Union said up to 500 workers from leisure centres, libraries and other council operations could be cut through natural attrition, but the council has denied this figure.
The council was issued with three disaster declarations by the NSW government in 2023/24, and is one of the most disaster-declared local government areas in the state, putting extra pressure on its budget.
The newly elected council has been looking at ways to trim costs.
“The current model isn’t working,” Deputy Mayor Peter Wilkins said.
“It’s bleeding money.”
When asked if the CEO was making the financial situation worse, he said the current restructure proposal — which would see 19 full-time jobs cut and two director roles absorbed into other departments — did not go far enough.
“In the bigger picture we’ve got to look at the totality of the dire financial position and the future forecasts for the council and something drastic needs to occur,” he said.
He denied reports there were now plans to cut up to 500 staff through natural attrition or around half of the 1,078 full-time equivalent positions.
“We’re not looking at cutting any jobs yet,” he said.
“We’re looking at a restructure plan and that’s going to be put in place by hopefully the acting CEO.”
Mayor Patricia White announced the CEO’s resignation at Monday night’s general council meeting without warning or explanation, with a number of councillors saying they were shocked and surprised, but also concerned about the implications.
Shoalhaven Mayor Patricia White announced the CEO’s resignation before putting the council into confidential mode to elect an interim CEO. (ABC News)
On Wednesday, the city performance director Kerrie Hamilton resigned, adding to the potential payout costs.
“I am genuinely fearful now of the future because there is a fiduciary responsibility we have as councillors,” Assistant Mayor Matthew Norris said.
“And if there is going to be a confidential payout fee that we are not alerted to, there is money going out the door that we are not seeing.”
The deputy mayor said the CEO payout could be as high 38 weeks’ pay, so from an annual salary of $400,000 the cost to ratepayers would amount to $292,000.
A spokesperson for the council said there would be no briefing to councillors on the financial implications of the resignation as it was a confidential contractual matter.
Rush to join the union
Legal industrial officer at United Services Union Stuart Geddes said there had been a wave of council employees joining the union due to fear and concern about their future.
“All our members have serious fear and anger about what is going to happen moving forward with all these rumours spiralling about council proposing job cuts by natural attrition,” Mr Geddes said.
Mr Geddes said half of the workforce could be up for review through a proposed natural attrition process.
“That is a very real concern for staff, they don’t know who will be impacted and what those impacts will be,” he said.
Mr Geddes confirmed the union had been working with council on the restructure to address the financial situation prior to the resignation, but the CEO’s resignation has thrown “everything up in the air”.
“We have a CEO who seemed to be doing a good job, trying to do the right thing, who suddenly resigns under what looks to be political circumstances,” he said.
The Member for South Coast Liza Butler said the community deserves an explanation and she has written to Minister for Local Government Ron Hoenig asking for an investigation.
“I have written to the Minister for Local Government asking for the Office of Local Government to step in do a full investigation so that the ratepayers of the Shoalhaven know exactly where we stand in this matter,” she said.
Accusations dismissed as ‘plain false’
Ms Butler said the CEO was set up to fail with the new council majority elected in September demanding a timetable they knew she could not deliver.
“They want to reduce staff by 500 through natural attrition. How can she do that, how does she identify which persons are going to leave?” Ms Butler asked.
Deputy Mayor Peter Wilkins denied there was ever a pre-meditated plan to remove the CEO.
He described reports of a meeting just days after the new council was sworn in with the mayor asking the CEO to resign or she would be sacked as “complete fantasy”, but acknowledged a confidential meeting did take place, which he attended as an observer.
“To suggest that we breached protocol and the meeting was inappropriate and threatening, to suggest there were demands that she resign are just plain false and fantasy,” he said.
“She has resigned and that’s disappointing, it’s sad.
“But someone I guess has to make the hard decisions and she’s taken one. That’s what we all should be doing.
“We should be thanking her.”
By Romy Gilbert and Nick McLaren
