City of Launceston council
look to future transformation
EXAMINER AUGUST 19 2019
The first full restructure in more than 30 years of the
state's largest council is now occurring.
It is the first time since
1985 that the City of Launceston council has overhauled the whole organisation.
In a document obtained
by The Examiner, general manager Michael Stretton outlines a
proposal for the organisation's future.
The Organisational
Alignment Project Seriously Entertained Change Discussion Paper says
the council will consider the future of its major assets: UTAS Stadium and
Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery.
Read the full details
here:
City of Launceston council
staff will this week be provided with a document outlining the organisation's
future which will work towards contemporary operation.
Mr Stretton said the document
would revolutionise local government.
"This does set us up to
become one of the highest performing councils," he said. "There is no
reason why we can't be the highest performing council in the country."
The overhaul would see the
council operate as an "agile" organisation rather than a hierarchical
one.
The council would move away
from directorates and departments to become three networks of team.
"These networks will
improve collaboration, engagement, and communication in a dynamic way and will
provide more equitable distribution of work access across the
organisation," Mr Stretton said.
The first team will fall
under organisation services. It will deliver internal services including
finances, IT, data management, people and culture, government and innovation
and performance.
Community and place makes up
the second team, and involves external focuses. Community relations, city
development, health and compliance, liveable communities, and business
enterprise.
Infrastructure and asset is
the third team which will focus on planning, maintenance renewal and upgrade of
the city's infrastructure and assets. Sustainability and recreation,
infrastructure and engineering, project design and delivery, building assets
and investigations and operation will also fall under this umbrella.
This will see Mr Stretton's
title change to chief executive, with three general managers leading the teams.
"The general managers will
be supported by a strong leadership structure of managers and team
leaders," the document said.
Mr Stretton said there was
just one other council operating like this in the whole country.
"The organisation does
not have a consistent leadership model and this results in an inconsistent
approach to the way the organisation is being led," he said.
Staffing levels
Several staff changes are
expected to occur under the plan.
Despite some redundancies
proposed, Mr Stretton said that was never the reason for the report.
Under the plan, 56 new roles
will be created to fit the needs of the council's future.
Future skills expected to
emerge in the local government sector during the next three years are data
analytics, digital literacy, digital technology, smart technology, working
remotely, new corporate digital systems, GIS interactive mapping, agile and
flexible working styles, and social media platforms.
More than 20 roles will be
made redundant, with the staff being redeployed into reasonable redeployment
roles. A further 40 roles will no longer exist.
"Basically out of that
40 there are 56 new roles that are potentially there," Mr Stretton said.
"It's not about needing
to shed staff, in fact, it's about aligning them."
The council said it had been
as transparent as possible with its staff, and the elected officials were
excited by the proposal.
Key Assets
The Queen Victoria Museum and
Art Gallery is also intended to be overhauled under the plan, with Mr Stretton
saying the council is too small to cater for the asset's future.
"The future success of
both of these vitally important institutions may require new arrangements which
cannot necessarily be provided by remaining part of a local government
organisation," he said.
UTAS Stadium
The OAP recommended a review
be conducted into the organisation, ownership, and governance arrangements for
the Inveresk Precinct.
"The aim of the review
being to determine if it is more appropriate to transition away from a
department-based operational model, to a trust or a similar entity which better
positions the stadium for future opportunities," it said.
Mr Stretton said the asset was
continuously growing.
"For a council of this
size to be maintaining it is massive. We're the only council in Australia that
owns an AFL stadium and we need to look at what's happening with that and
elsewhere in Australia."
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Mr Stretton likened a
possible arrangement to one similar to Geelong's Kardinia Park which is
state-owned and runs through a trust.
"Given that Hawthorn
currently play at UTAS Stadium for a non-commercial amount whilst promoting
Tasmania as a whole and contributing substantially to the northern economy, it
is suggested that government ownership of the asset may be appropriate."
The changes are about
structuring the asset for its future success, he said.
QVMAG
A review of QVMAG would
determine if it is best to transition away from operational models to a more
"contemporary" management model.
"This could involve
governance being provided by a board and leadership is provided by a general
manager who can focus more exclusively on the business of the museum and art
gallery," the OAP said.
A similar review would be
undertaken for the Inveresk Precinct as a whole.
A range of structural changes
to QVMAG's interim operation to enable the organisation to use its resources
more effectively.
"These changes are
consistent with a new leadership model which provides the opportunity for the
general manager to be strategically focused, and creates clearer career
development pathways especially in the curatorial area," the OAP said.
QVMAG is Australia's largest
regional museum and gallery. It is visited by 140,000 people annually who spend
about $32.8 million.
The collection is valued at
more than $235 million, putting QVMAG in the same league as the Tasmanian
Museum and Art Gallery worth $408 million, South Australia Museum worth nearly
$300 million and the Northern Territory Museum and Art Gallery worth $120
million.
The OAP estimates the current
director is only able to spend about three days per week on QVMAG business.
"This is very little
time when compared with other directors of art galleries," the OAP said.
"The OAP notes that
people work at QVMAG because they are passionate about what they do. However,
they need support and direction to be successful.
"Old ways need to give
way to contemporary practice and for museums and art galleries to be
successful, they need to be run as an effective business."
Aquatic centre and Carr
Villa
Mr Stretton said the
Launceston Aquatic Centre and Carr Villa Cemetery would effectively run as
normal.
"The change is that
we're putting them into a business enterprise unit which is a different level
to the stadium and museum," he said.
"It is one where we do
have the capability and skills to be able to provide the managerial support as
opposed to the niche area of a stadium and art galleries."
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