Delving into nitty-gritty

Job losses after Games

JOBS will be lost from Gold Coast City Council after next April’s Commonwealth Games, Mayor Tom Tate has confirmed.

Cr Tate yesterday said after handing down the Star Warsthemed budget he would be putting a voluntary attrition plan to councillors focusing on reducing staff once the Commonwealth Games were over.

The council currently has 68 full time equivalent positions assigned to help prepare for the Games.

“It’s post the Commonwealth Games when it comes to an end,” he said.

“We have to keep the good ones and the other ones we don’t need in other areas we have to let go.”

Some staff members working on the Commonwealth Games have been transferred from their regular council duties and their positions have not been back-filled.

Cr Tate said he would be looking to place a freeze on employment, instead promoting from within and retraining staff after people retired or left. all

“Lets get the staff meaner and leaner and that will be the direction,” he said.

Cr Tate said no frontline staff, including those who answered phones, conducted maintenance and worked on roads, would be in the firing line.

A review of the community services department in the council is also being conducted which could see a slimming of staff.

The council is among the biggest employers on the Gold Coast. THE basics like footpaths, public toilets, kerbside cleanups and Christmas events have been the focus of each of the councillors’ annual spending in their areas.

Every year the councillors have $750,000 to spend upgrading infrastructure, sports fields, community areas and holding events in their divisions.

Robina Councillor Hermann Vorster said fees charged to restaurants and cafes for outdoor dining will also go into each of the div- isional coffers for “promotions and streetscaping”.

He said this means areas such as Broadbeach and Surfers Paradise have a larger amount to spend as they have more outdoor dining areas.

A comprehensive list provided by each of the councillors show a majority have opted to stick to grassroots issues such as footpaths, community events and public toilets.

Labrador councillor Kristyn Boulton said she had chosen to focus on getting the basics right. “Importantly, I’ve managed an initial allocation of $100,000 towards the construction of a long-term project – a new clubhouse and toilet facility for the Dodgers Touch Football Club, Labrador,” she said.

Councillors who chose not to spend all their allocation can allocate the money later this year or save it for future projects in upcoming years.

A list of the councillors’ spending in their divisions appears on page seven and continues on page eight.