City CEO Tim Baker's cost cutting plans has council staffers anxious about future

Mercury

18-07-2025

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The Gold Coast's second biggest workforce is experiencing a wave of anxiety. Concerned staffers at Gold Coast City Council fear they will be retrenched. What is their future?
CEO Tim Baker dropped a bombshell after the council budget last month – $75 million in savings had to be found in the next 12 months. At least 100 workers in non-essential services would be targeted for redundancies.
Two weeks later he revealed details of a cultural survey which showed a 'clear and deliberate turnaround' in the morale of the City's 4000 staffers.
A staffer in an email to your columnist wrote: 'Let us be clear – the (survey) article grossly misrepresents the lived experience of many council staff, who continue to work under immense pressure, within a culture that despite surface-level changes and PR
spin remains plagued by dysfunction, fear, and suppression of dissent.
'Many of us continue to experience a workplace riddled with poor communication, inconsistent leadership, unrealistic workloads, and limited opportunities for genuine career progression. When employees raise concerns, they are often ignored, marginalised, or worse – silenced.'
On Monday, some staffers say an email advised them their position was 'non-critical' and their fixed contract could be terminated. They say hundreds of roles are impacted.
'Meanwhile, multiple recently created middle management positions are safe and do not have to justify their workload – or lack thereof – to keep their positions,' another staffer wrote.
The Services Union in an update to members as the final weeks of consultation occurs maintains there are alternatives to cost savings.
'Cutting staff, not filling vacant positions and reducing fixed-term contracts may be the easier options, but they are not the only solutions. Saving money should not come at the expense of dedicated and high performing employees who provide vital services to our ever increasing community,' the union says.
Asked for a response, Mr Baker was blunt. This is about a responsible budgeting which protects services and limits rate increases.
'These proposed savings are not optional. They are necessary. Like all major organisations, we must live within our means. Council has committed to delivering $75 million in operational savings this year. That commitment, combined with previous reform efforts, will result in more than $300 in annual savings for the average ratepayer,' he said.
Services will not be compromised, and any reforms are about eliminating duplication and streamlining bureaucracy, he added.
These are his commitments:
• No permanent staff are at risk of losing their job.
• All redundancies will be voluntary.
• The 2025–26 budget includes funding for an additional 250 roles to deliver Council's core priorities this financial year.
'City of Gold Coast staff have been clearly advised on multiple occasions that consultation is still underway and no final decisions have been made. Until that process is complete, speculation about the exact number of staff is unhelpful and inaccurate,' Mr Baker says.
On the survey, he says employees wanted transparency and timely reporting of results.
Outside of City offices, Mr Baker is probably winning the PR war. Many readers take the stereotypical and non-sympathetic view that council staffers are not overworked.
But at the City worker coalface? Recent announcements from the boss are about as popular as a pothole at the entrance to offices from Bundall Road.
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Originally published as City CEO Tim Baker's cost cutting plans has council staffers anxious about future