£1.2m savings plan to share top
council jobs in West Oxfordshire and Cotswolds
SAVINGS of £1.2m a year could be
made by a plan to merge the senior management teams of West Oxfordshire
District Council and neighbouring Cotswold District Council.
Each council would save £600,000
if the proposal is implemented.
The proposal will be discussed by
West Oxfordshire District Council’s cabinet next week.
Their counterparts at the
Gloucestershire council are meeting tomorrow.
If agreed, the changes would come
into force by next April.
The councils have shared the
services of chief executive David Neudegg since 2008.
In a report published yesterday,
ahead of the cabinet meetings, Mr Neudegg said: “Undoubtedly the strategy that
we have pursued to date has been effective without causing major disruption to
services and staff which has been evident in some other councils.
“However, to drive out any
further significant efficiency savings, it will be necessary to commit to a
higher degree of management and service integration.”
He added: “It is now considered
necessary for the structures of the two councils to be aligned as far as
possible in terms of service areas.”
The councils currently have four
directors – two of these roles are already shared – and 17 service heads.
The plan recommends cutting the
number of directors from four to three and service heads from 17 to 12, meaning
some would run departments in both councils.
The departments earmarked to
share heads are revenues and housing support, business information and change,
legal and property services, customer services, environmental services, public
protection and leisure and communities.
Planning and democratic services
would remain as separate departments at each council.
A selection process for the new
roles will be drawn up later this month and confirmed in December.
The new structures would be
phased in from January to be fully up and running by April 1 next year.
West Oxfordshire District Council
leader Barry Norton said one or two redundancies might have to be made but they
could be at Cotswold District Council’s headquarters in Cirencester.
He added: “There would be no
effect to frontline services for residents – it’s a review of management.
“This is an evolutionary move,
rather than revolutionary, it’s no big bang.”
The move is expected to save
£300,000 a year by 2015 and £1.2m by 2018-19.
The West Oxfordshire cabinet
meeting is at 2pm next Wednesday at the council’s Woodgreen offices.