City Council calls restructure ‘once in a generation’ while elected members raise concerns
The scale of job losses at Adelaide City Council in the past six months has been revealed, just days out from a crucial budget meeting.
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The scale of Adelaide City Council’s “job massacre” has been revealed with 159 staff shown the door in the past six months, a council report reveals.
The council has also paid $1.08m in redundancies since February and $2.5m in separation payments to senior executives between July 1, 2015 and June 30 this year.
The figures, contained in tonight’s council agenda, is the first public admission from the council about the extent of job losses at the organisation which is embarking on a cost-saving restructure due to the COVID pandemic’s impact on revenue.
As of August 7 there were 48 fewer permanent employees, 27 fewer casual employees and only three temporary employees compared to 55 six months earlier.
A further 32 trainees have also lost their jobs.
Redundancies were across areas inluding small business advice, project management, the Aquatic Centre, compliance and parking.
The report, which followed questions on notice from councillor Phil Martin, said 21 employees have also had discussions about “proposed impacts on their role”, potentially paving the way for more job cuts.
Thirty-three senior executives had also left the council between July 1, 2015 and June 30.
The Advertiser reported on Saturday that the council is planning on spending $14m on redundancy packages, prompting speculation up to a further 150 jobs could go.
Mr Martin said the scale of the “jobs massacre” was apparent and that it was “only the beginning”.
“If, as I believe, there are up to several hundred more redundancies likely then there is a possibility of in excess of 350 jobs being axed with unquestionably serious consequences for the provision of current services,” he said. “And none of this has been approved by the elected body of council.
“In fact, councillors have not even been consulted on this jobs massacre.”
He said 33 “highly paid” senior executives had also left the council in the past five years.
The Advertiser revealed on August 7 that up to 150 jobs were at risk.
Elected members will meet on Thursday to approve a $237 million budget which aims to achieve $20 million in operational savings — mostly by reducing the council’s 800-strong workforce.
Mr Martin will call on colleagues at the meeting to defer a decision on further redundancies.
The council released a report last week called Reshaping Our Organisation, as part of a plan from January 2021 to cut costs.
“While challenging, this period has taught us a lot about our services and functions, and has given us cause to reflect on which changes might be practical and sustainable, in the longer term,” the report said.
“This is not business as usual; this challenge will require a reappraisal of the role we play in driving public value through the delivery of our service.”
The report made no reference to job losses.
Currently, the council’s operating deficit is forecast to be $33.6m, which the report said was not “sustainable”.
Mr Martin and councillor Anne Moran, both part of the council’s minority faction, wrote to Local Government Minister Vickie Chapman about staff and service cut concerns.
Cr Martin lodged a motion for this week’s council meeting to stop any redundancies, however, it was knocked back.
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Lord Mayor Sandy Verschoor said it was chief executive Mark Goldstone’s responsibility to “undertake responsibility for the day-to-day operations and affairs of the council”.
That comes despite the report saying that under the Local Government Act chief executive Mr Goldstone must consult elected members about “significant” changes to staff structure
Cr Martin said the council’s financial position had improved in the past three months, with borrowings reduced from $73 million to just over $50 million.
“The City of Adelaide is, we think, seeking to blame the pandemic for its own massive staff cuts, citing reduced income from rates and reduced revenue from fees, charges and businesses,” Cr Martin said.
“When, in fact, sizeable operating deficits over a number of years are primarily to blame for our financial problems.”
Lord Mayor Sandy Verschoor was contacted for comment.
The council will discuss the Reshaping Our Organisation report at a meeting on Thursday.
*This version has been updated to include total redundancies between July 1, 2015 and June 30 this year. An earlier version only mentioned redundancies between February and August of $1.08m