Tauranga City Council today confirmed a restructuring that will result in the loss of 30 initial jobs and a further 36 jobs by early 2014.

The second round of job losses is expected to result from the review of Council Controlled Organisations and allied leisure activities, and the completion of a document scanning project in early 2014.

Tauranga City Council.

The council shrunk its staffing requirements through a new organisation design managed by interim chief executive Leigh Auton.

The final design incorporates a number of changes after staff consultations following the initial announcement in November.

The new bureaucracy comprises four groups – strategy, organisational services, infrastructure services and community and environmental services - each headed by a General Manager.

A proposal to establish a Chief Executive Advisory Unit will not go ahead, instead there will be a stand-alone Executive Advisor reporting directly to the chief executive.

Leigh says the outcome of the review is an organisation that is adjusted to the political and economic climate, is fit for purpose, and is now in a very strong position to move forward.

'I believe that this organisation review and the work that follows will result in staffing levels that are appropriate and designed to enable a continuation of current levels of service to the community.”

The review is one of a series of reforms at Tauranga City Council in the past few years. These include reviews of capital expenditure and multiple activity reviews that resulted in real efficiency gains.

'This is not the end of the process, but another significant step along the way,” says Leigh. 'The challenge for the incoming Chief Executive is to maintain the focus on efficiency gains, particularly in the area of a staff salary cap, functional reform and shared services.”

A key driver for the review is to create a structure that encourages and nurtures innovation in all parts of the business, and that was outwardly focused in terms of customer service and shared services, says Leigh.

'The opportunity is there to work more closely with our neighbours in the Western Bay and wider Bay of Plenty for mutual benefit. This is a formula that has already been used successfully by TCC and I'm confident there will be further opportunities for shared services in activities such as transport, water and wastewater.”

Design principles adopted for the review are based on good practice and included recommendations from the State Services Commission. The final design followed a staff consultation process, feedback from Elected Members and input from a number of external sources.

Implementation of the new structure will take place early in 2013.