In the wake of the Lyme Green scandal, all current management posts at Cheshire East Council (CEC) are set to be scrapped and managers will have to apply for newly established posts with revised roles and responsibilities.
Chief Executive Kim Ryley is proposing a "less hierarchical, matrix management system" which will reduce the management tiers and management posts, to cut overheads by 25% over the next three years.
If Mr Ryley's proposed changes are approved by councillors in the next few weeks, the new management structure will be implemented in three phases.
Firstly all senior posts (49 in total) with salaries of £55,000+ a year will be completed by Easter 2013; all posts with salaries of £30,000+ a year will be completed by July and all frontline team leaders and supervisors will be completed by September.
In a letter to staff, Kim Ryley explained "The planned changes to current management roles and responsibilities are based on a new operating model for the Council as a Strategic Commissioning Body.
"This means we will operate very differently in future, on the basis of a 'hard' split between commissioner and provider roles, as well as the regrouping of service functions in ways which will separate some elements of most of our services and remove the current structure of 'People' and 'Places' Directorates."
He added "The changes will make it clearer who has the authority to get things done. They will also devolve decision making and resources to the frontline, so that we can be more flexible and responsive to the needs of our residents and local businesses. This will have the benefit of helping us determine who should be held to account if we fail to meet our agreed improvement targets and outcomes to improve quality of life for local people."
The Chief Executive's review of management roles and responsibilities will be considered by the Cabinet on Monday, 4th February, and then by the Full Council on 21st February.
The report proposes that the two Strategic Directors are replaced by a single Director of Strategic Commissioning for all council services and activities, who will earn in the region of £130,000. They will be supported by a team of commissioning experts and the statutory postholders for Children's and Adults' social care, and for Public Health services.
Alongside this, a second new senior post of Chief Operating Officer is proposed. They will be responsible for all the 'core' strategic and business support functions of the Council, together with service standards and the performance of all the providers used by the Council.
The COO would also lead a small corporate support team of managers for Finance; Commercial Strategy; Business Innovation and Performance; Organisational Development; and Democratic Services and Governance.
The annual salary of the post of COO will be in the region of £110-120,000, and the Corporate Support Managers will earn between £70,000 and £90,000.
Savings from management reductions are forecast to exceed £5m by 2015/2016, with the bulk of savings being achieved in 2013/2014.
The Chief Executives report 'Becoming a "Strategic Council" – Review of Management Roles and Responsibilities' will be considered at a meeting of the Cabinet on Monday, 4th February, at Westfields, Sandbach.
Image: The Council's new Corporate 'Core' as proposed in Kim Ryley's report.
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