THE City of Greater Geelong has agreed in principle to consolidate its administrative functions into one building.<\/p>\n
A report presented to last month\u2019s council\u00a0meeting outlined a series of options, including maintaining the current arrangement, building a new\u00a0administrative base at 137 Mercer Street in Geelong (not far from the Geelong Town Hall), or leasing a new purpose-built building from a developer.<\/p>\n
The council will form an advisory committee to consider and put forward the best option.<\/p>\n
The committee will also discuss the potential expansion of the Geelong Gallery into all or part of Geelong Town Hall.<\/p>\n
At the moment, the city\u2019s administration is spread across 10 separate locations in central Geelong.<\/p>\n
Benefits of consolidating the council\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
The advisory committee will report back to council on July 24.<\/p>\n
Geelong mayor Bruce Harwood said consolidating the council\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
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 \u201cthe first step in what will be an exhaustive process\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a feather in the cap of this council that we\u2019re prepared to get to work on issues such as this that need to be moved forward.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
THE City of Greater Geelong has agreed in principle to consolidate its administrative functions into one building. A report presented to last month\u2019s council\u00a0meeting outlined a series of options, including maintaining the current arrangement, building a new\u00a0administrative base at 137 Mercer Street in Geelong (not far from the Geelong Town Hall), or leasing a new […]<\/p>\n