Kiama council calls extraordinary meeting, union calls for council's sacking

Decisions about the Blue Haven Boniara facility, with its 134-bed aged care facility and 59 independent living units, will be discussed - one to sell it, the other to stop the process.

Discussion about the sale of Blue Haven, on the agenda since 2022, will be held in a confidential session, as all tenders will be presented to councillors for consideration.

There will be public access the the February 1 meeting from 4pm, with proceedings to start an hour later.

The week after that meeting, Kiama's mayor Cr Neil Reilly and CEO Jane Stroud have pencilled in meetings with residents, their families, council staff and unions to discuss the next steps.

All of this comes days after the United Services Union (USU) called for the council to be sacked and an administrator appointed over failure to manage its finances.

USU general secretary Graeme Kelly said Premier Chris Minns needed to step in and end the dysfunction, back the local community and provide certainty for residents and staff of Blue Haven.

"There are 200 staff who deserve a guarantee that their jobs won't be at risk as this council pushes to sell off Blue Haven, a move that the USU believes would be a poor outcome for residents and staff alike," Mr Kelly said.

He said the appointment late last year of a former Sutherland Shire Council general manager to inquire into the finances of Kiama council should be completed before the council moved to sell Blue Haven.

A spokesperson for the Minister for Local Government, Ron Hoenig, confirmed John Rayner, who has previously reported on similar situations in two regional NSW councils, is reviewing the council's financial situation.

"Mr Rayner is examining the council's response to its financial challenges and its delivery against the performance improvement order, as well as identifying further steps that may need to be taken."

The performance improvement order was delivered in November 2022 due to the council's parlous financial position.

The council met the compliance milestones of the order and submitted the final report in June 2023 for ministerial consideration.

It is understood the performance improvement order remains in place.