City agrees on plan for one office

THE City of Greater Geelong has agreed in principle to consolidate its administrative functions into one building.

A report presented to last month’s council meeting outlined a series of options, including maintaining the current arrangement, building a new administrative base at 137 Mercer Street in Geelong (not far from the Geelong Town Hall), or leasing a new purpose-built building from a developer.

The council will form an advisory committee to consider and put forward the best option.

The committee will also discuss the potential expansion of the Geelong Gallery into all or part of Geelong Town Hall.

At the moment, the city’s administration is spread across 10 separate locations in central Geelong.

Benefits of consolidating the council’s offices could include operational cost savings, offering a single customer point, improved workplace culture and the opportunity to incorporate new community infrastructure into any building for the council.

The advisory committee will report back to council on July 24.

Geelong mayor Bruce Harwood said consolidating the council’s offices into one location is a positive step for the organisation and for the community in terms of the opportunities to unify the organisation, increase efficiencies and productivity and release surplus assets for other economic uses.

Chair of the finance portfolio Pat Murnane said the Commission of Inquiry identified the project as a priority, and the formation of the committee was “the first step in what will be an exhaustive process”.

“It’s a feather in the cap of this council that we’re prepared to get to work on issues such as this that need to be moved forward.”