Councillors here will be checking to see if services offered are being done efficiently and effectively.
This time it is not being done for just one department, but township services as a whole.
To that end, councillors recently reviewed the organizational review report drafted by township Chief Administrative Officer Michael Wood.
His recommendation was that Centre Wellington council approves a request for proposals be issued for consulting services for a review of the township’s organizational structure, processes and services.
In his report, Wood explained that through the corporate strategic planning process, council identified the need to undertake a review of the township’s organizational structure, process, and services “to ensure that services are delivered efficiently and effectively to the community.”
Wood noted that since amalgamation in 1999, reviews of the fire and public works departments were undertaken by consultants and in-house reorganizations undertaken in other departments such as finance, parks and recreation, clerk’s, and information technology and services.
“No review has been taken on a corporate-wide basis to determine if the current structure covering the entire organization optimizes the most efficient and effective delivery of the township services for the years ahead.”
Wood added a request for proposals was drafted to hire consultants to undertake the review.
He anticipated the review could happen over a three-month period and that a budget of $35,000 would be funded through general capital reserves.
Mayor Joanne Ross-Zuj said there were a number of very good points within that report.
“This is a project we have not engaged in within the past 12 years, and we do have some challenges that we’ll be facing us in the future,” she said. “It’s a good move to get us up to date,” Ross-Zuj said.
Wood said the budget for study would be revealed to the consultants as a matter of practice rather than having them approach the project with the “sky as the limit” for costs.
“Everyone would be playing on a level field … except for the amount they charge.”
He suggested if all other factors are equal except for one firm charging $100 per hour more for the service, “We would probably go for the lesser charge.”
The intent, he said, would be to get more services in the overall budget.
Council endorsed the motion to move ahead with the request for proposals to move ahead with the review.
