09 Nov, 2020

New City of Adelaide structure

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The City of Adelaide’s administration has provided Council with a proposed plan to save $18 million while ensuring the ongoing delivery of essential services.

A new structure will allow the organisation to focus on delivering essential local government services and brilliant experiences as a Capital City. It will accelerate business growth in the City of Adelaide through the Adelaide Economic Development Agency – all enabled by more efficient and effective corporate services.

The proposed structure aligns with the City of Adelaide’s purpose, responsibilities and strategic priorities. It is efficient, sustainable and streamlines Council’s levels of leadership and reporting relationships.

It will provide value for money for ratepayers and enables the City of Adelaide to continue to provide quality services to our community.

Some $3.9 million in savings has been achieved through non-labour expenditure, which includes consultant fees, contractors, materials and training and development. An additional $14.1 million in savings have been identified through the proposed redesign of Council’s organisational structure.

Effective vacancy management, natural attrition, and other factors have meant that the total number of people impacted is far less than has been reported. Of the almost 800 people in the organisation, it is anticipated that less than 40 people will no longer have a role in the new structure.

In total, the new structure proposes a change to 235 roles – in most cases, the changes simply reflect a different reporting line to align with the new portfolios and teams.

Chief Executive Officer Mark Goldstone said the changes incorporate feedback from Council, the community, and the City of Adelaide’s own people.

“Like so many other organisations, COVID-19 has made it a difficult time for the organisation but these changes to our structure give us the best opportunity to bounce back strongly,” said Mr Goldstone.

“Our focus will be on allocating roles to our current employees and all of our people will have the opportunity to provide feedback on the proposed new structure.

“Our aim is to minimise impact on our people, while transforming our organisation for the benefit of our community and driving public value.

“I’m pleased that, despite recent unhelpful speculation that hundreds of jobs will go from the City of Adelaide under this restructure, we’ve been able to minimise job losses.

“Importantly, I want to acknowledge and thank our people for their engagement and professionalism throughout this process.”

The proposed plan responds to a directive of Council for the City of Adelaide’s administration to identify $20 million in permanent operating expenditure savings this financial year. The City of Adelaide is currently projecting an operating deficit of $39 million for 2020/2021, as the city continues to experience the impact of the restrictions associated with the global pandemic.

Implementing final structural changes is anticipated to start from January next year, after which Council will consider options to realise the remaining $2 million in savings.


For more information

Matt Halliwell