It was entirely predictable there was outcry when news broke that Shoalhaven City Council was considering staff pay rises. Councils everywhere cop a bagging whenever there’s talk of increasing costs and Shoalhaven is no different.
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Sometimes the criticism is justified; most times it is not.
The recent council community satisfaction survey bears this out. Generally, people are happy with their interactions with council but the satisfaction slips when it comes to road maintenance and development application processing.
It is no secret council has a staffing issue, especially in the DA processing area. Its own report points to difficulties attracting staff when other businesses and local governments offer higher salaries.
There are also difficulties retaining staff when better remuneration is offered further afield. Council is no different to other enterprises whose staff costs have remained relatively static and which are now struggling in an increasingly competitive job market.
The old argument that wages in the regions were justifiably lower than those in the city because overheads were lower is beginning to look a little worn out.
Fuel and energy costs have been creeping up steadily in the regions, along with housing. It is no longer a lot cheaper to live outside the big cities, yet regional wage structures remain stubbornly inert.
So Shoalhaven City Council is doing the right the thing by having a conversation about increasing the amount it pays to staff. While the fine details about where that extra funding is to come from are yet to be worked out, floating the idea is justified. The city needs to be competitive if it is to attract the right staff and keep them.
Stagnant wage growth has been a brake on the Australian economy for some time now. At the local level, a small increase to council’s wage structure might free up a little disposable income to be spent in our towns and villages.
However, before it continues the conversation, council needs to convince ratepayers that it is operating as efficiently as it can – that we are getting the best bang for our buck.
That means fixing things like roads so they stay fixed – not doing it on the cheap in the first instance so repairs have to be repeated.
Any pay rise is much more palatable if it can be shown to represent true value for money.
