What happened?
The town of Natick, Mass., recently voted to consolidate four departments into one Department of Community Services. The move is expected to save $100,000 annually.
The Plan
The plan would combine Human Services, Council on Aging, Veteran Services, and Recreation and Parks departments. The new Department of Community Services would have a single director, and the four original departments would be considered “divisions.”
In an interview with Gov1, Town Administrator Martha White said that the primary objective was to coordinate activities. The town needed to “create an organizational structure that facilitates collaboration in the delivery of services, particularly given the upcoming opening of the new Community/Senior Center, scheduled to e completed late next summer.” After the Center is completed, each of the new “divisions” will be housed there.
No Short-Term Savings
According to White, “We do not expect any savings initially, in fact there will be increased cost due to the creation of a new position: Director of Community Services.”
No Job Losses
“At the outset, we are not eliminating any positions within any of the divisions of the new department,” said White. “However, I fully expect that over time we will be able to combine jobs and eliminate positions through attrition.
Success?
The consolidation of the four departments was so successful that Natick continued the trend of consolidating departments in May of 2012, when is agreed create one Facilities Management Department that will clean and maintain all town-owned buildings. In addition the departments of the collector, treasurer, comptroller and assessor were combined into a single Finance Department.
Action Items
Gov1 readers can download the original consolidation plan, as well as the second Finance Department reorganization plan.