THREE senior managers at Wychavon District Council and Malvern Hills District Council are set to lose their jobs as part of a managerial shake up aimed to save both authorities almost £300,000.
The two councils are looking to create a joint management structure and plan to cut the number of senior managers at both councils from nine to six – a plan which would each save them £140,000 a year.
In a statement, the councils said they hoped to make changes through voluntary redudancies which would cost an estimated £220,000 and be funded from a government grant.
Both councils have stressed the changes will have no impact on the day-to-day delivery of services to residents and would remain independent organisations.
Councillors will vote on the proposals at a full council meetings at both councils next week. If approved, the proposal could take between 12 and 18 months to implement.
The plan has been put forward by chief executive Jack Hegarty as part of the two councils’ response to cuts to their Government funding.
Their main Government grant has fallen by 53 per cent since 2010/11 and Chancellor George Osborne is expected to announce further cuts in his Autumn Statement on November 25.
In a report to councillors, Mr Hegarty said: “I am proposing that the existing combined senior management of nine posts is reduced to six.
“Looking at the business needs of both organisations over the medium term, there is a strong case for consolidating the senior management resource thus reducing costs, avoiding duplication and allowing effective deployment of the resource to serve the needs of both councils.”
Coun Linda Robinson, Leader of Wychavon District Council, said: “We’ve already demonstrated how sharing senior management can benefit both organisations as well as save money and this seems the next logical step.
“We have a very talented group of staff who I’m confident will be able to manage the changes to ensure the needs of Wychavon residents continue to be met and crucially, the decision-making will still be done by Wychavon councillors.”
Council chiefs at Wychavon will vote on the plans at a meeting on Wednesday (October 21).
