SWAN Hill Rural City Council will only consider temporarily standing down staff as "a last resort".
That was the response of SHRCC Chief Executive Officer John McLinden after the State Government called on Victorian councils to do their bit during the coronavirus crisis and not dismiss or stand down staff.
"We are working to ensure services can be delivered to the full extent possible, but we are aware that under current circumstances there will be some interruption to service provision," Mr McLinden said.
"To keep our services operating efficiently we will need as many of our staff as possible.
"Where a service is interrupted, our first option will be to redeploy staff to other areas of Council. Where this is not possible, we will allow staff the option to take leave. As a last resort, if a staff member works in a non-essential service and can't be redeployed, we would consider temporarily standing staff down."
Earlier this week, Minister for Local Government Adem Somyurek and Minister for Jobs Martin Pakula wrote to Victorian councils advising they must continue to provide critical community functions.
"Councils have a vital role to play in supporting and protecting local communities during these unprecedented times and dismissing or standing down staff is not consistent with that," Mr Somyurek said.
"It is important that Councils do their bit by addressing the implications of coronavirus on their operations and continuing to serve their community.".
Mr Pakula agreed.
"Through no fault of their own, many people have found themselves out of a job and facing an uncertain future – we are asking all Victorian councils and businesses to do everything they can to preserve jobs wherever possible," he said.
Councils have also been invited to partner with the Victorian Government's $500 million Working for Victoria Fund to help people who have lost their jobs and ensure local services continue to be delivered.
Every level of government in Australia is taking action to protect their communities and Victorian local governments need to do the same.
A wide range of councils across the state have taken measures over the past week to protect their staff and redouble efforts to support vulnerable community members.
The Victorian Government said it was working with councils, with a specific focus on small rural councils, to consider the implications of coronavirus on their operations including the welfare of staff, compliance with the Act, elections and their meetings.