Gilmore MP and Mayoral candidate Jo Gash says she is stunned Shoalhaven Council is proudly reporting a budget surplus of almost $2 million, at a time when the region's road are rapidly falling apart.

City General Manager Russ Pigg says the surplus has come in at $1.7 million and has congratulated directors and staff for containing expenditure during the last financial year.

Mrs Gash says the money should have been spent on fixing roads and the crumbling infrastructure in the Nowra CBD and the region's other towns and villages

The MP says if council can not do the work there are plenty of highly skilled local contractors who would be prepared to bid for projects