No. 31 Organizational Reform

(Published in the May 15, 2014 issue of Koho Inagi)

At the same time as this year's changeover, City Hall has implemented organizational reforms and is now operating under a new organization. Initially in April 2014, we placed additional staff at the main entrance to prevent confusion, but was there enough guidance?
This organizational reform was one of the first tasks I took on after becoming mayor, and it took three years of preparation before it was finally implemented.
Regarding the revision,
(1) To create an organization that is easy to understand and use;
(2) Reduce the burden on staff by dividing work and centrally managing it in each specialized department;
(3) By doing so, each staff member will be able to concentrate on their duties and improve the quality of citizen services;
(4) Consolidate human resources and improve efficiency
This was the basic idea. In addition, instead of the planning and general affairs department unilaterally creating a revision bill as in conventional organizational reforms, the city hall as a whole drew up the revision bill after hearing opinions from employees from all departments.
The main revision points are:
(1) We have appointed a ``Child Welfare Director'' in order to integrate as much as possible the work related to children, which used to be spread over three departments, and make it a one-stop shop.
(2) In order to promote debt collection for the city as a whole, a portion of non-tax receivables will be centrally managed by the Collection Division (formerly known as the Tax Payment Division);
(3) Separate the tasks necessary for facility management and operation according to their nature, and have separate specialized departments handle each task.
Etc.
In a nutshell, facility management and operation includes "daily management" such as opening and closing keys, cleaning, paying utility bills, and minor repairs, "operational management" such as holding events and courses, and listing in asset registers. There are different levels of work, such as "property management" such as preparing financial statements, and "maintenance management" such as diagnosing aging of buildings, formulating renovation plans, and implementing construction.
Previously, each facility's organization was in charge of all of these tasks, but it was difficult for the staff at each facility to become familiar with all of these tasks and execute them efficiently.
Therefore, this time, in principle, we have separated these areas, with property management being handled by the General Affairs Department, day-to-day management being outsourced as much as possible, the original department in charge concentrating on operational management, and maintenance management being handled by the City Construction Department. Therefore, we decided to have multiple organizations actively involved in one facility.
In recent years, the socio-economic situation has been undergoing rapid changes, administrative demands have become increasingly diverse and sophisticated, and with the declining birthrate and aging population, it is necessary to achieve the maximum effect with even more limited financial resources. To this end, it is necessary to constantly review the internal structure of the organization, such as the structure of the organization and the personnel appointment system.
We will continue to strive to maintain and maintain citizen services, and thank you for your understanding.