By Dominique Tassell
Southern Downs Regional Council received its quarterly human resources report at the 28 July meeting, where Councillor Stephen Tancred made a speech about the state of the organisation.
Councillor Tancred stated that “at the last council meeting, the CEO and HR Manager presented and described some of the changes in our organisation…and how the people at the top were changing things“.
“The point was made that the changes were made not to to save money but to get some better outcomes“.
Councillor Tancred said he wanted to make comment on “the bottom rungs of our organisation“.
He stated there had been claims they were a shrinking organisation, “but the data does not support that“.
“The reality is that compared to 30 June last year, 30 June this year, we have three per cent more staff employed.“
“And that’s a good thing, because we’ve got plenty of things to do in our region.
“And I think it’s a positive.
“We are an organisation that is not shrinking.“
However, the report stated they had a decrease in staff.
Council’s approved organisational structure as at 30 June 2021 was 367.98 full-time equivalent positions (FTE), which includes permanent, temporary and casual roles.
A comparison of the FTE from 31 March 2021 shows a decrease of 6.16 FTE positions.
Council document state that “a number of new unfilled roles have been identified as not being required in the structure moving forward, and as such, were removed in this quarter“.
As at 30 June 2021 there were 346.49 FTE positions filled, leaving 21.49 FTE vacant positions. The vacancies include positions in the process of being recruited or waiting for approval to recruit, subject to budget.
The majority of staff are employed permanently, with 4.8 per cent employed in a short term or casual capacity where business needs arise.
The majority of staff are employed in the Infrastructure Services, making up almost 60 per cent of staff.
Council’s annual rate of separation has increased from 4.0 per cent as at 31 March 2021 (last quarter) to 6.3 per cent at the end of the current quarter.
