CITY ENGINEER’S DEPARTMENT

Dominion, Volume 29, Issue 198, 19 May 1936, Page 11

CITY ENGINEER’S DEPARTMENT

Reorganisation Plan COUNCIL ADOPTS PROPOSALS Regrouping of Activities Adjustments which are considered necessary to adapt the organisation of the 'Wellington city engineer’s department to present requirements, and to ensure more co-ordinatiou and greater efficiency, are set out in a joint report made by the city engineer (Mr. K, E. Luke) and the deputy city engineer (Mr. E. R. McKillop) and adopted by the City Council. “Wo propose,” the engineers say, “to group the activities of the department! under the following heads: (1) Correspondence and records, accounts and contracts, stores purchase and control and industrial awards. (2) Waterworks, drainage, sanitation and health. (3) Street works, construction and maintenance. (4) Traffic, transport, street cleansing, refuse collection and disposal. (5) Building, architectural work and town planning. (6) General preparation of plans and estimates, construction of major works, laboratory, survey and forestry. “Groups 1 to 5 will be in the charge of sub-heads, while Group No. C will come under the direct control of the deputy-city engineer, who, in addition, will be responsible to the city engineer for the general co-ordinatiou and working of all the groups. We propose that the functions of traffic and health should be transferred back to this department. This will avoid in the case of traffic and transport, duality of control, and in the case of health will ensure better co-ordination of inspection services. Street Works. “A major adjustment has been made in the ease of No. 3 Group, street works.'. . . We would recommend that the officer in charge of this group be designated maintenance engineer, street works, and have associated with him not more than two district engineers; the overseers to remain as at present with the exception of the trench maintenance inspector, who will be transferred to the building branch. The existing street works organisation has been based upon this branch cou'trolling refuse collection, street cleansing and storm-water drainage. In recent years storm-water drainage has been handed over to the drainage branch and refuse collection and street cleansing has been placed under separate control. For the immediate future at least any major construction work carried out under street works will be limited, as owing to the heavy relief works programme the city in this connection is in a welldeveloped state. Tho work of the group will largely consist of maintenance, which owing to the extension of surfacing into tho suburban districts, has become a lesser responsibility. “Thedistrict engineer (or engineers), freed by this recommendation can be transferred to groups 2 or 4 to understudy positions shortly to become vacant there, or to group 6 to assist in the supervision of major construction works. “The transport branch also requires strengthening as, due to lack of coordinatiou among the various groups in the past, very little flexibility in the matter of ordering transport has been secured with definitely uneconomical results to the corporation. In the future this branch will be controlled by the officer in charge of street cleansing and refuse collection, working under the sub-head in charge of group No. 4. “We have associated under group No. 5, the functions of building and town planning. The council has not committed itself to any town-planning scheme under the Town Planning Act and the work of town planning in recent years has been closely associated with the building branch. So far as Wellington is concerned, for the immediate future at least, town planning resolves itself primarily into a question of zoning and housing. For this reason we consider it very desirable that the functions of building and town planning should be grouped under one head. New Duties for Deputy-City Engineer. “In regard to group No. C, the functions comprised within this group are those which we think can best be controlled by the deputy-city engineer. They comprise functions not in themselves sufficiently important to warrant separate representation and functions related intimately to the working of all the other groups. It is proposed to amalgamate the various drawing offices. There are at present three drawing offices operating independently. This results in lack of uniformity in design and lack of flexibility so far as staff is concerned. "It is proposed also to group major construction work, whether carried out by contract or day labour, under this control. At present there are too many officers between the city engineer and the contractor or officer directly controlling the work. Major works, outside the usual construction programme, are best provided for by special arrangement as they occur and should, we think, be handled directly by the deputy-city engineer. Ageing Officers. "The foregoing represents the main adjustments which we think should be carried out in the department. We have concerned ourselves only with key positions involved in relation to the requirements of the department as we find them. We have made no attempt to adjust positions to suit individuals as we realise that any move in this direction is not in the best interests of the department. It is evident to us however, that there are in the department, several, if not u number of officers, who, due to age, physical infirmity, or change in the work of the department are no longer functioning with the fullest efficiency. Many of these officers have given long years of service to the corporation, and it is not desired to inflict on them undue hardship. Over the next five-yearly period, retirements on superannuation from the department will be such that the position will automatically adjust itself, and we recommend to the council that this course be adopted. In certain instances adjustments to salaries might be made.

**F urthcr considerable economies could be obtained were the department housed in a building designed to suit its particular requirements. The present building is most unsuitable, and loss of economy takes place in many directions.

As’ examples of this' it is necessary to maintain three plan safes, three plan registrars and three public counters, whereas in a properly-designed building only one safe, one plan registrar and one public counter would be necessary. An Unusual City. “In assessing the requirements of the department, we are bound to take into consideration the fact that Wellington is an unusual city. Its topography is such as to present always difficulty, ami expense to engineering activities within its confines, whether these be connected with water, drainage, road construction, traffic control, building, refuse collection or disposal. Very few cities the size of Wellington are in this Aspect so unfortunately placed. For this reason, comparisons, unless made very carefully, will give misleading and unfair results. “Again, in no other city of Wellington’s size in the Dominion, and in very few abroad, are the functions of water and drainage vested with the city engineer. These are usually controlled by separate boards. In Wellington also the city engineer is' engineer to the City and Suburban Highways Board, and to the Wellington City and Suburban Water Supply Board. In addition, in Wellington, the city engineer’s department carries out a very large amount of work for other departments, viz., tramways, milk, libraries, reserves, abattoirs, etc. This necessitates the maintenance of a staff in excess of that which would be required to carry out the normal functions Usually vested With the city engineer. For the reasons given above the position of city engineer in Wellington carries unusual responsibilities, to discharge which efficiently, a sufficient and competent staff will always be required. Still Slightly Overstaffed. “Summarised, the .position is as follows :— “(1) A considerable decrease in the personnel of the department has already taken place over the last few years, the salary expenditure in point of fact, being only 77 per cent, of the expenditure’!)! 1929, while the staff has been reduced from 166 to 133. “(2) The department in certain directions is still overstaffed, although not in our opinion to a serious extent. With the adjustments we propose, we think that this condition can be allowed to remedy* itself by the retirements which will take place over the next five-yearly period. “This completes the adjustments which we think should be made to adapt the department’s organisation to its present requirements. We have already carried out in the department a considerable amount of reorganisation not included in the scope of this report, and this has already produced very beneficial results. . . . Following the adoption of the report, there will be a considerable number of. consequential adjustments to be made. These, we think, fall under the authority delegated by the council to the city engineer. “Tills Watertight System.” “Wo cannot stress too strongly the necessity for the future of securing greater co-ordination within tlie various groups comprising the depart ment. In the past, these groups, for recognition and advancement, have, been placed upon a more or less competitive basis and decisions have been made which have been more in the in* terests of the group than of tlie. department as a whole. This watertight system has undoubtedly been the cause of much inefficient working, public criticism and unnecessary expense to the corporation. The principal object of this report and of our reorganisation as a whole is to break this system down and to secure much greater flexibility of control and harmony in working than hitherto has been possible.” When the adjustments outlined in the report are made it will mean a saving of £l5OO a year, and, later, when certain officers retire, a saving of approximately £3OOO a year.