Auckland Council

At the local elections in 2010, the new Auckland Council will be established, with new councillors and a single mayor elected by the people of Auckland.  At that time, the present eight local authorities (seven local councils and Auckland Regional Council) will be dissolved. The new Auckland Council will be a new unitary council, with all the responsibilities and powers held by the current local authorities.  It will take over all regional assets, including museums, stadiums, parks, and entertainment and exhibition venues. For more on the the Government’s proposals and decisions on the Auckland Council go the Making Auckland Greater website.

Draft Organisational Structure - Auckland Transport Agency

The Auckland Transition Agency (ATA) has released the Draft Organisational Structure - Auckland Transport Agency. The document and a covering letter from ATA Executive Chairman Mark Ford may be accessed at this site.

The document is Part 4 of the Discussion Document - Organisational Structure and Staff Transition released by the ATA for feedback on 2 November 2009.

The ATA is proposing a clear functional model for the Auckland Transport Agency, with three major organisational groupings reporting to an Interim Chief Executive.

The draft organisational structure has been circulated to employees of existing councils and council-controlled organisations for feedback.

Discussion Document released – Auckland Council

A discussion document that will help to shape the administration of the new Auckland Council was released by the Auckland Transition Agency (ATA) on Monday 2 November 2009.

The document has been circulated to the chief executives and staff of Auckland existing local government organisations. It is summarised in the 2 November 2009 of the Transition Times newsletter.

There are three parts to the document:

  • Part 1: a draft organisational structure showing the most senior roles in the new Auckland Council, including proposed groupings of functions under the Interim Chief Executive.
  • Part 2: a draft scope of workforce change document.  This includes some descriptions of the types of roles or functions which may be subject to the greatest and the least degree of change during the transition.
  • Part 3: a description of the draft processes and protocols to be applied during the transition. This document outlines the draft principles proposed when staff move from jobs with existing local councils to roles with the new Auckland Council and describes how people will be treated when a suitable job is not available.

Key points in the discussion document include…

  • The draft organisational structure is designed to promote clear accountability for community outcomes and customer service. Management roles are significant and meaningful, with appropriate spans of control.
  • There is a commitment to maintaining or enhancing council service delivery.
  • Council staff who deal directly with customers will generally remain in their current locations. It is not intended generally to review staff numbers or roles of people involved in community facilities (such as libraries, parks, and recreational facilities) and community services.
  • Strategy, policy and planning functions and corporate services will be reorganised to support the new governance and operational needs. When redunancies occur, they will be managed in accordance with the terms and conditions of employment agreements and legislation.
  • The picture presented today in the discussion document is not final. Analysis and design work on the council and on council-controlled organisations (CCOs) is continuing; IT system constraints may impact the timing of some location change. 
  • There will be opportunities for employees to provide input on service design, development of the resulting staffing plans and their implementation. Mechanisms for this have been established and general comments are welcome to info@ata.govt.nz.  

ATA Executive Chairman Mark Ford said: “We are committed to running fair, transparent processes and are working with existing local government organisations and employees to obtain their feedback.”

Web links for employee feedback have been established with councils. Additionally, general comment is welcome to by post to Feedback, Auckland Transition Agency, PO Box 99394, Newmarket 1149, Auckland, or info@ata.govt.nz.

Part 4 of the discussion document, the Draft Organisational Structure - Auckland Transport Agency, was released by the ATA on 20 November 2009. It is now available on this site.

Chief sought for new Auckland Council

The role of Interim Chief Executive of the Auckland Council has been advertised.

The position – which is for a fixed term to 29 June 2012 – calls for an individual who can build a high-performing, customer-focused organisation. The successful candidate is expected to have:

Significant experience at Chief Executive level in managing large and complex change.

  • Direct experience of strategic public sector leadership or exposure to commercial roles with public sector impact.
  • The ability to create a culture of innovation and performance.
  • Success in integrating teams into a high-performing unit. 

ATA Board member Wayne Walden is to chair the sub-committee that will make the final appointment. He said: "We are searching for an exceptional individual with expertise in change management who will establish an appropriate culture of performance at the Auckland Council."

Ian Taylor, the Executive Director of Sheffield Search – the agency appointed to lead the search – said: "This will be a local and global search and we anticipate there will be considerable interest."

The job advertisement will appear in local newspapers, online and be circulated via Sheffield’s local and international search networks. The job advertisement and the supporting job description supplied to applicants are available here.

Agency appointed for interim chief executive search

An executive search agency has been appointed by the Auckland Transition Agency (ATA) to undertake the search and recruitment of the interim chief executive of the Auckland Council.

Sheffield Search, an Auckland-based agency with strong national and international networks, has been appointed following a contestable process.

ATA Executive Chairman Mark Ford said Sheffield had been briefed to begin the process as soon as practical “so appropriate time can be given to finding and recruiting the best candidate for the job”.

ATA releases draft project plan for transition

The Auckland Transition Agency (ATA) has published a draft of its project plan and circulated it to Auckland’s existing local government organisations.

The ATA is required to plan and manage the transition from Auckland’s current local government structure to the Auckland Council by 1 November 2010.

The draft project plan is a high-level document which breaks the tasks into work streams and outlines proposed steps required to achieve successful transition. The work streams are:

  • Work force and human resources
  • Legal
  • Community services
  • Finance and treasury
  • Property and assets
  • Economic development – including tourism and events
  • Council-controlled organisations, trusts, investments and infrastructure.
  • Environment – including policy and planning, regulatory services and environmental services
  • Governance
  • Customer services
  • Business processes and systems
  • Communications and public affairs

The draft project plan may be accessed here. Alternatively, go to www.ata.govt.nz and click on work streams then scroll down to the link.

Executive Chairman Mark Ford says the ATA team leading work streams were grateful for the assistance being given by local council employees nominated by their chief executives.

“We are grateful to those employees and to the council chief executives who have facilitated their involvement,” he says. “The ATA expects to seek further support of this nature as the project progresses.”

Additionally, where necessary, the ATA will seek external assistance from organisations or individuals with specialist skills or experience. A registration of interest (ROI) document may be accessed through the government tenders website www.gets.govt.nz and is available here. The closing date for the registration of interest through the ROI process was Thursday 3 September.