Whanganui District Council plans to axe 31 roles as it chases $2m in annual savings

The Whanganui District Council plans to axe 31 positions and replace them with 10 new roles as it chases savings of about $2.1 million a year.

Chief executive David Langford said the restructure proposal would result in a reduction of 21 full-time equivalent jobs but not the same number of redundancies.

The latest job cuts come on top of positions axed earlier this year which save further $680,000.

Langford said the restructure aimed to minimised the impact on frontline services.

"The restructure proposal has largely focused on reducing the number of management roles while trying to minimise impacts on front-line service delivery. The number of executive managers will reduce from five to four and a number of senior management roles will also be disestablished.

"The restructure disestablishes a number of current roles in addition to the vacant positions removed as part of our Vacancy Management Programme.

"In total, 31 positions have been disestablished and will be replaced with just 10 new positions."

Langford said the community expected the council to be an efficient organisation.

"While we are seeing some positive signs our economy is recovering, inflation, interest rates, increased insurance and energy costs are still putting pressure on households and businesses. The council is also facing similar increases to the cost of delivering services for the community."

Mayor Andrew Tripe said the restructure was about making the tough calls and doing the right thing for the community.

"In 2022, one of my five campaign focus areas was for a more 'streamlined and efficient council'. The reality at the time was that the headwinds of challenge in our community were starting to blow and we have seen rates around the country increase significantly. This burden on ratepayers is not sustainable."

Tripe said a six-point plan and been introduced keep rates affordable in early 2023 and the restructure was the latest initiative under this plan.

"This year's budget include just over $13.4 million of financial targets for the chief executive to meet. This includes targets for finding efficiency savings, increasing the council's non-rates revenue, and securing alternative funding sources.

"I'm pleased to see the chief executive and his teams are working hard and making good progress towards meeting these targets."

Langford meanwhile said the restructure wasn't just about cutting costs.

"We want to realign the various teams and departments within the council into new groups is also expected to improve the organisation's performance."

There were three key objectives:

• Building a high performing, customer focused culture with the council
• Effective and efficient service delivery
• Building public trust

"The restructure is expected to make it easier for departments across the council to work together in a more coordinated way. This will also make it easier for people and businesses to work with the council."

Langford said the restructure would also bring council's events team, Te Whare o Rehua Sarjeant Gallery and NZ Glassworks together with the tourism and visitor industries team, which used to be part of Whanganui & Partners.

"This creates a one-stop-shop for all things related to visitor experiences in Whanganui. This will position the council to help accelerate the growth of the tourism and hospitality sectors of our economy and make sure Whanganui continues to have a lively events scene."

Langford appreciated restructures were always difficult for staff.

"It is a distressing time for people whose jobs are being made redundant. I would like to acknowledge and thank those staff leaving the council for their years of dedication and hard work in service to the Whanganui community."