Gympie council CEO Shane Gray: ‘no regrets’ after first year on the job

A year on from taking Gympie Council’s top bureaucratic job, CEO Shane Gray said he has ‘no regret’s’ despite being faced with financial challenges and backlash to the council’s direction.

If a year in the hot seat as Gympie Regional Council’s top bureaucrat has proven anything to Shane Gray it is you cannot please all the people all the time.

“Not everybody is happy with the changes we’ve made but it was necessary to get us back on track,” Mr Gray said.

However, at no point in the past 12 months has he regretted taking the job as the CEO of a ratepayer-funded organisation with an almost 500-strong workforce.

The frustration was “it takes time to change, to get it right”.

“There is no doubt our cash position was going the wrong way,” he said.

The hurdle was “no real clear understanding of the organisation … what our true cash position was”.

Gympie council CEO Shane Gray says “not everybody will be happy” about the changes that have occurred since he took the top job, but the hard decisions were necessary.

He said there may be a perception in some corners the council was doing nothing. That did not match the reality. Work was happening to ensure basic service levels for roads, pipes and assets like halls, Mr Gray said.

“If we don’t get the basics right it’s very hard to move forward,” he said.

“If you want to see new stuff built we have to be able to afford it. And not just the once off (payment).

“Any project we entertain … we have to maintain it for the life of that asset.

“At some point the grants run out but the ratepayer still has to maintain what we’ve done.”

Gympie council CEO Shane Gray said the biggest challenge was the fact no clear picture existed of the council’s true financial position.

He said there had already been one reaction he had never seen in almost four decades of working in local government.

“I haven’t noticed in other councils where Facebook and community actually start thanking the staff and councillors doing the jobs we should be doing anyway,” he said.

“Equally, there’s a handful of people … that will never be happy regardless.”

The pas 12 months have not been without controversy.

The council has clashed several times with its workforce’s union over an internal restructure and job uncertainty.

There are also reportedly a growing number of investigations being undertaken into alleged misconduct, some dating back more than five years.

Gympie council CEO Shane Gray’s time in the top job has been met with both thanks and criticism on social media.

It was part of a wider overhaul which has involved looking at other areas including procurement.

“The reason we did bring in externals to be completely independent was to look at the gaps and the reality, not the perception, that the council needed to improve in those places and close those gaps,” Mr Gray said.

“Where we’ve found inconsistencies or gaps we’ve had to refer them because that’s what my role is.

“I have no choice.

“I have to refer where I have doubt.”

“This whole process doesn’t happen overnight because we’re impacting people’s lives, reputations and livelihoods.”

Gympie council CEO Shane Gray, pictured here with Simon Nedelko, says it does not make sense for him to work in the community and not be part of it.

“There are staff hurting because of restructuring … equally other have gone on to find other careers.

“The hard decisions have to get made, and then the rebuilding of the organisation is underway right now.”

His 12 month in the top job also marked 12 months living in the region.

Unfortunately time continued to be an issue.

“If I had time I’d be doing much more,” he said.

“I lived at Rainbow to start with but I’m not a surfer.

“So while all the surfers are out there, I might have waved at them as I went past but I didn’t take up surfing.”

That has not kept him from popping up around the region.

“I don’t think it makes sense I work here and don’t be part of the community.

“I went out to Kandanga last week to watch the footy; I’ve done that a number of times.

“Not because I’m forced to go – my contract doesn’t say that – it’s because I want to go to be a part of it.”

Originally published as Gympie council CEO Shane Gray: ‘no regrets’ after first year on the job