Shoalhaven Council: Mayor Patricia White addresses rumours 500 staff will face redundancy

A south coast mayor has spoken out on “grossly inaccurate” online rumours that her council intends to make 500 staff members redundant in a bid to save funds.

Shoalhaven Council will not be letting go 500 employees, says Mayor Patricia White.

A frustrated mayor has slammed rumours her south coast council intends to make 500 staff members redundant as “grossly inaccurate”, “totally false” and “online scuttlebutt”.

Shoalhaven Mayor Patricia White has addressed the “serious lie” circulating online that the council is making the massive staff cuts in order to save needed dollars.

“It’s nothing but online scuttlebutt,” she told this publication.

The rumours originated on Facebook community groups, according to Ms White, who said they spread like wildfire.

“There will be some changes made in our council restructure, but when we have just over 1000 employees, firing 500 people would be the worst thing you could do,” she said.

“Nothing would get done.”

Shoalhaven Council mayor, Patricia White.

The rumours alleged the redundancies would save the coastal council money after a long financial battle.

In November 2023, an independent economics group found the council was financially unsustainable, blaming the situation on natural disasters and the Covid-19 pandemic.

Since then, more than 90 community projects have been cancelled and multiple rate rises have been proposed in an attempt to turn the tides.

“I hate these online rumours and they need to be fact checked,” Ms White said.

Ms White noted that the United Services Union made the situation worse by helping spread the misinformation.

In a statement to the media, union spokesman, Stuart Geddes, said “letting go 500 staff would be a disaster”.

Shoalhaven Council chambers.

“The roads in the Shoalhaven need constant maintenance to keep them safe, letting 500 staff go will make the roads dangerous,” he said.

However, Ms White said the organisation was keen to dispel the rumours.

“I want to be clear as the mayor, 500 staff are not being fired,” she said.

“It’s not being discussed, it’s not happening.”

The rumours also began circulating after the shock resignation of Shoalhaven Council chief executive officer Robyn Stevens after only 10 months in the gig.

Ms Stevens announced her resignation at the ordinary meeting on Tuesday, with director of city development, James Ruprai, to temporarily fill the role.

A council spokeswoman said Ms Stevens started the role with a focus on improving the financial sustainability of the organisation.

“On behalf of council, I would like to thank Ms Stevens for the positive impact she has had on the culture of the organisation and the efficiencies that she has implemented in the short time,” Ms White said.

The resignation and staff cut rumours have led to South Coast MP Liza Butler calling on the coastal council to be investigated.

“It’s an unwarranted investigation,” Ms White said.

“We’ve just been elected, we have a financial situation that we need to get out of, but we’re not going to get out of it by slashing our staff by more than 500.

“I hope these rumours can be put to rest.”

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