SOUTHERN Downs Regional Council (SDRC) will trial new on-call arrangements for critical after-hours council services, for a three-month period, starting on 21 June.
SDRC chief executive officer David Keenan said the new arrangements included a reduction of the number of staff rostered as after-hours on-call personnel, and offered considerable operational savings.
“The trial is the result of a comprehensive review by council staff of the after-hours on-call personnel arrangements that have been in place for a long time,” he said.
“The review of these arrangements was done in consultation with staff and is part of council’s ongoing commitment to identifying efficiencies and savings within the organisation.
“The trial will reduce existing on-call manning of 18 personnel to eight on-call staff from Monday to Saturday, and four on-call staff on Sundays.”
Mr Keenan emphasised that the trial arrangements would ensure that critical council services are supported effectively and appropriately, while ensuring savings.
“The new system will deliver enormous savings estimated at $200,000 per year,” he said.
“To achieve a comparable sum through active revenue-raising would require a rate rise of about one per cent, and we know that simply would not be well received by our ratepayers and the Southern Downs community.
“Instead, council is engaging a proactive approach to drive continuous improvement and further productivity gains through revised systems and processes, such as the new on-call arrangements.”
Mr Keenan said the council anticipated that the on-call changes would boost productivity through a more effective, targeted use of the skill sets of staff within the organisation.
