City debates private deal

By Nathan Johnston
SOME of the City of Greater Dandenong’s major service areas are set to be contracted out to the private sector.
The council agreed on Monday night to start formal negotiations with a private contractor for a 10year deal worth tens of millions of dollars.
Under the deal, council’s financial, administration, payroll, information technology, customer services and part of the media and communications unit would be contracted out.
A requirement of the deal is that there must be no extra cost to ratepayers.
The move is also expected to create hundreds of local jobs.
CEO Cark Wulff said none of council’s 700 employees would lose their jobs or working conditions under a new Strategic Services Partnership (SSP) arrangement.
The council advertised the contract in June, and has chosen to continue negotiations with United Customer Management Solutions (UCMS).
Its offer included a $1 million cash injection plus 40 new employees within the first two years to reengineer a range of council’s processes. The offer also included a pledge to create a further 500 jobs in Greater Dandenong within the next 10 years.
UCMS is the Australian branch of the Capita consortium.
According to a council report, Capita has worked successfully with councils in the United Kingdom to regenerate local economies and create employment. A delegation of Greater Dandenong councillors and staff visited the UK in July to see Capita’s work.
Mr Wulff said all services would be retained within the City of Greater Dandenong.
“We are doing this to build on the local employment base, so one of the conditions would be that the employment base be in the city somewhere. We can’t have the economic and employment benefits if the staff are located elsewhere.”
He said the contract could not go ahead without the support of the new council to be elected in November.
“Progression beyond this point is done at their (contractor’s) own risk.”
Cr Kevin Walsh said the council had to look at alternatives to try to attract a younger workforce to replace the 50plus baby boomer age group.
“This meets the needs of a new generation. Young people want career progression, and this is possible in a larger organisation,” he said.
“It’s fair to say a lot of us still have concerns, but it has the potential to create jobs and reinforce our position as the capital of the south east.
“If we defer the decision, we lose the benefits of the knowledge we gained from the research.”
But Cr Angela Long said the council should delay any decision until after the election.
“This council should not commit the next council to a 10year contract. Why the rush? Two and a half months are not a long time. Who’s to say any of us are going to get back in?
“Why fix something that’s not broken. We’re not in any financial trouble. We should wait until the new council has been briefed by the tenderers and the unions before a decision is made,” Cr Long said.