In a report to be considered by Council at tonight’s meeting, he has indicated a restructure is imminent.

When appointed to the position Mr Gordon said during the first three months he would review Council operations and consider the adequacy of the structure to meet the challenges ahead and the changing local government sector in general.

While recommending the structure of general manager and three directorates be retained, the report notes that all other areas will be reviewed.

Mr Gordon said aligning new roles and responsibilities was necessary, but not in itself sufficient for real and meaningful progress on the road to modernisation.

“New behaviours and a new culture of trust, teamwork and accountability will be necessary to make the design work,” Mr Gordon said.

“I must emphasise that the review is no reflection on the staff or Council but a situation that has developed because Council’s structure is generally old and the way things have been done for a long time.

“This Council has some very good staff who, with our robust and dedicated group of Councillors, can significantly support the achievements that Wingecarribee Shire Council has made to date.

“However, the risk is that if our organisation is not adaptable to the changing environment in which local government is part of, we risk becoming ‘spectators’ and not ‘participants’.”

Mr Gordon said this did not mean jobs would be cut.

“This in no way means jobs will go, this is just a logical change,” he said.

“We will be putting on more permanent staff initially as long-term casuals become permanent.

“But I suppose as local governments are expected to do more with less it may be the case in the long term, but that is certainly not what we are facing now,” he said.

Mr Gordon proposes that individual responsibilities of the Directors are likely to change as part of the ongoing strategic review.

The organisation below director level will be based on a team-based structure as it is more responsive and flexible than the current function based structure.

Mr Gordon has set a deadline of June 30 for the completion of a review, consultation with staff and the resulting implementation of changes.