By Jerram Watts
The Auckland Transition Agency has released its discussion document about the structural changes that will occur for the pending supercity.
Top-level managers, strategists and policy-makers will be the hardest hit by the expected redundancies.
ATA Executive Chairman Mark Ford says in the document these staff "are likely to be involved in significant chance as these functions will generally be centralised".
There are around 7000 Aucklanders currently employed by the city and district councils in Auckland.
There are plans to minimise the individual impact of staff redundancies through "less disruptive approaches" such as attrition (where staff numbers are reduced by not replacing staff who resign their employment), appointment in alternative roles and voluntary redundancy.
The Auckland Council will be a "unitary authority undertaking the role of a regional council and a local council" the document says.
The document also outlines a change to a two-tier governance structure: the governing body (Mayor and councillors) and the local boards.
Decision-making will be shared between the two tiers.
However, there is some sunshine through the rain for lower-ranked staff.
The ATA does not intend generally to review staff numbers or roles of staff whose jobs are specific to
particular community facilities such as libraries, parks and recreational facilities, the plan says.
There is also some temporary relief for staff whose jobs are "specific to particular operational work in community services such as social housing; local community development and funding; youth, safety and other community programmes and initiatives; and local events; or in infrastructural services such as stormwater, transport and water services".
Staff who deal with customers directly will also remain in there current locations, except in relation to the changed management structure.
The plan says it hopes to give employees as much clarity as possible about the fate of their jobs, but also says it is too soon in the planning process to give them a definite view as to "whether the work that they carry out will be subject to change".
There is a tight one-year timeframe to complete the structural changes needed to prepare the council for a November 1, 2010 start.
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