A Port Macquarie-Hastings Council revised organisation structure will come into force from May 1.
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A strategy and growth division will replace the community and economic growth division.
The council determined the senior staff positions, reporting directly to the general manager, as the director corporate performance, director development and environment, director infrastructure and director strategy and growth.
Port Macquarie-Hastings mayor Peter Besseling said the strategy and growth focus was in keeping with the council’s exact phase and position at this point in time.
“If you look at this over the last term, and this term of council so far, we have moved to get the culture of the organisation right,” he said.
“We have moved to get the finances of the organisation right, and we are looking at the next phase, which is focusing on strategy and growth.”
He said the revised structure would allow the council to have a real strategic focus.
That takes into account areas such as the urban growth management strategy and the area-wide traffic study.
“We know transport will be a big issue for us and I’m not just talking about traffic,” Cr Besseling said.
“I’m taking about public transport and public transport corridors.”
Cr Besseling said the council also needed to look at growth and how it managed growth.
The Port Macquarie-Hastings Council area population is forecast to grow to 102,926 by 2036.
The number of council directors will remain unchanged under the new organisational structure.
Jeffery Sharp, who has been at the helm of the infrastructure portfolio since 2009, will become the director of strategy and growth in recognition of his strategic leadership at an executive level.
The director of infrastructure position will then need to be filled.
The infrastructure and asset management division, as a result of the organisation structure review, will become the infrastructure division.
Assets and property investment will come under the strategy and growth portfolio.
Other areas to fall under the strategy and growth portfolio include economic development, communications, community place and strategic land use planning.
Strategic land use planning switches from the development and environment division to the strategy and growth portfolio.
The corporate and organisational services division has a name change to corporate performance.
Meanwhile, the council has approved the appointment of a strategic projects officer role as a full-time permanent employee to assist in the development of long-term strategies.