City of Launceston council look to future transformation.
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.
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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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City of Launceston council look to future of operation
For the first time since 1985, the City of Launceston council is set for a full transformation.
Individual departments have been restructured over the years, but under general manager Michael Stretton's new plan the council would be fully examined and overhauled.
In a document obtained by The Examiner, Mr Stretton outlines a proposal for the organisation's future.
The Organisational Alignment ProjectSeriously Entertained Change Discussion Paper says the council will consider the future of its major assets: UTAS Stadium and Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery.
The OAP highlighted the need to examine the future of the two assets, saying both the "important institutions" may require new arrangements that cannot necessarily be provided to the institutions if it remained part of a local government organisation in the longer term.
A review will be carried out to determine if it is more appropriate for the council to transition away from the current operational model to a "more contemporary" one.
It will also look at making several roles redundant. However, as a result this will allow the council to create numerous roles required for the council's future success.
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Mr Stretton said that's what the whole overview was about.
"The Organisational Alignment Project ... has been developed to enable our organisation to transition to its preferred and desired culture over the next few years," the document said.
"The OAP is not a 'silver bullet' which will instantly propel our organisation to delivering on this vision and purpose and the constructive culture we all desire."
The plan is expected to take about four years to roll out.
Mr Stretton said he had been working on a project like this "his whole career".
"We have to look at new and better ways," he said.
Conversations have been ongoing with staff since last week.
The council is now undertaking a month-long feedback plan, saying it has been more transparent than ever before.
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