Redundancies off Tasman District Council agenda
Staff redundancies are not in Tasman District Council’s plans for dealing with the economic effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.
‘‘We will not be making staff redundant as a response to the financial pressures of the pandemic,’’ said council chief executive Janine Dowding. ‘‘Jumping to staff redundancies is not the panacea that some may think it is.’’
The council workload was not reducing and many of the unitary authority’s functions must be delivered.
‘‘So when you look at what services we could choose to reduce, it falls largely in the community support and capital projects area,’’ Dowding said. ‘‘Reducing spending in those areas might mean the organisation could hunker down and ride out the storm but it would come at a cost to the community, both in terms of services and employment.’’
The council faces a drop in income after it axed a planned 2.97 per cent rates revenue rise for 2020-21, adopting a zero rates rise instead. It expects lower dividends from Nelson Airport and Port Nelson and a fall in income from its commercial portfolio.
Dowding said the council had indicated it ‘‘wants us to be an active part of recovery’’ from Covid-19.
‘‘I am very appreciative of their support and pleased that, as chief executive, I can harness the enormous goodwill and agility our staff have shown to support our community and businesses, and increase efficiency for the long-term gain of our district.’’
The councillors discussed the financial strategy for the Covid-19 recovery at a briefing in mid-May.
‘‘A continuum of response options, from severe austerity measures through to stimulating and strengthening the economy were considered,’’ Dowding said.
‘‘There was general consensus that the council should remain responsible and financially prudent, but also that it has an important part to play in helping the region to recover and not to make the situation worse by cutting spending.’’
In mid-April, Dowding said staff had been guaranteed pay for their normal hours until April 27, with most of the 347 employees working from home. The focus was to have remained on having all staff working ‘‘but if that is not possible, we will need to consider paid or unpaid leave from the 28th of April’’, she said at the time.
This week, Dowding said most employees were able to either continue working from home or return to the workplace.
‘‘A small number of staff used leave during level 3 due to their personal circumstances,’’ she said.
Meanwhile, a review continues of the council office space, which was started before the pandemic.
‘‘Our accommodation has been under pressure as the council responds to district growth and an increasing local and nationally driven workload,’’ Dowding said.
Council employee numbers have grown from 269 full-time-equivalent staff members as at June 30, 2018, to 315 as of March 31, 2020.
Dowding said the lockdown had given the council ‘‘reason to reconsider’’ its options. ‘‘We can see that there are opportunities for flexible work arrangements with greater
‘‘Jumping to staff redundancies is not the panacea that some may think it is.’’ Janine Dowding Council chief executive
mobility through technology,’’ she said.
Some employees could be fully productive working from home, which created more room in the workplace to ensure social distancing requirements were followed. Rosters had been established by some teams, which enabled staff to work from home part of the time and in the office at other times. The council chamber, where the councillors meet, was ‘‘outdated’’ with limited room and technology, Dowding said.
‘‘We’ve been considering the longterm possibility of securing an alternative location for council meetings,’’ she said. ‘‘No specific venues have been identified yet, but we continue to engage with the owners over options involving the current EOC [emergency operations centre] building.’’
The council had found a ‘‘workable solution’’ to meet the social distancing requirements for its gatherings, via a mix of audiovisual and attendance in the chamber.