MOUNT Gambier City Council will offer short-term employment to residents who have lost their job as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The initiative – endorsed by elected members at a special council meeting on Tuesday night – will result in council providing up to six months of employment to eligible applicants.
It is expected to cost council between $1m to $2m and will increase its capacity to complete projects within the local government area that would otherwise have remained low-priority.
Among the potential duties earmarked for the new group of employees is a hard waste collection trial.
Yet to be rubber-stamped by elected members, council infrastructure general manager Nick Serle said discussions about the trial were taking place behind closed doors with the issue expected to be tabled at council’s May 19 meeting.
“We are seeing a lot of spring cleaning and do it yourself work around the home and that has prompted a bit of a pull from the community for a bulky waste service, which the City of Mount Gambier don’t currently supply,” Mr Serle said.
“As a result of COVID-19 we are now turning our mind to how we might provide that service and Tuesday night’s endorsement gives us some extra staff to potentially carry out a trial run of such a service.”
If backed by elected members, Mr Serle indicated it could be operated through a book and collect service.
“At the moment it’s looking like an option where people ring up, request the service and we go around and collect the waste,” he said.
“That’s looking more probable than having people put the waste out city-wide and then we have waste sitting on the footpath because we take weeks and months to pick it up.”
Council chief executive officer Andrew Meddle said other areas of work for new employees were set out in council’s COVID-19 Places and Spaces Enhancement report, endorsed by council on Tuesday night.
“This is not work that is seeking to make significant capital infrastructure investment, but rather smaller scale interventions that deliver maintenance and improvements across trails, reserves and our CBD,” he said.
“The intent is to use a new, dedicated workforce to achieve this, who will be supervised, coached and mentored by existing council officers.”
Mr Meddle said the employment program intended to prepare Mount Gambier for the easing of restrictions and to ensure its spaces and facilities could be used safely and look appealing.
“Recent changes have made it clear that councils need an enhanced cleaning regime for public spaces as outdoor spaces provide a lower risk environment for activities,” Mr Meddle said.
“The reopening and cleaning of facilities to keep them open will be of benefits to our residents.”
Cr Ben Hood moved the initial motion regarding employment, highlighting the positive impact it would have on the city and its residents.
“This can certainly bolster the city in regards to getting us prepared for when the inevitably visitors will come into the city and we will have our best foot forward with the use of this workforce,” he said.
“We have people that are anecdotally third-generation welfare in this city, so let’s do something where we can get people on the ground doing work.
“When you’ve got work, you’ve got purpose and when you’ve got purpose, you’ve got hope.”
Opposed to the recommendation, Cr Steven Perryman believed there was less urgency due to the the JobSeeker and JobKeeper programs.
“The loss of jobs has been assisted by the JobKeeper and the JobSeeker, so the vast majority of people have a safety net and they have that safety net until September or October this year” he said.
“I think there is not the urgency to go to this particular program right now and I think it could probably do with a bit more time and a bit more fleshing out and a bit more detail before we do commit fully to it.”
While Cr Frank Morello would eventually vote in favour of the initiative, he initially questioned whether the money could be better spent elsewhere.
“I struggle to understand how the initiative will be sustainable in the future, it is a temporary measure for six months at a cost of $1m to $2m,” he said.
“I am just wondering whether these funds could instead be invested in initiatives that strengthen our business community that builds further capacity in this sector.”
Cr Christian Greco believed the initiative was a great way to up-skill personnel within the community.
After lengthy discussions among members, the recommendation received a favourable vote of five to three.
