No.31 Regarding Organizational Reform

(Inagi Newsletter published on May 15, 2014)

City Hall has implemented an organizational reform along with this year's transition and is now operating under a new structure. In April 2014, to avoid confusion, we increased the number of staff at the main entrance, but was the guidance sufficient?
This organizational reform is one of the first issues I tackled after taking office as mayor, and it has been implemented after three years of preparation.
In the case of the amendment,

1. To create an organization that is easy to understand and use,
2. Reducing the burden on staff by categorizing tasks and managing them centrally in specialized departments,
3. By doing so, each staff member can focus on their respective duties and improve the quality of citizen services,
4. Consolidate human resources and improve efficiency

This was established as a basic concept. Additionally, unlike traditional organizational reforms where the Planning and General Affairs Department unilaterally creates reform proposals, we conducted hearings for opinions from staff across all departments and formulated the reform proposal for the entire City Hall.
The main points of the amendments are,

1. To integrate and streamline the child-related operations that were traditionally spread across three departments as much as possible, a "Child Welfare Department Head" has been appointed.
2. In order to promote the collection of debts for the entire city, some of the outstanding payments other than taxes will also be centrally managed by the Collection Division (formerly known as the Taxation Division),
3. To categorize the necessary operations for facility management and operation by nature, and to assign each to a different specialized department.

and so on.
In short, while managing and operating facilities involves various tasks, there are different dimensions of work such as "daily management" which includes opening and closing keys, cleaning, paying utility bills, and minor repairs; "operational management" which involves hosting events and courses; "asset management" which includes recording in the asset ledger and preparing financial statements; and "preservation management" which involves diagnosing building deterioration, planning renovations, and carrying out construction.
Traditionally, each facility had its own organization overseeing all of them, but it was difficult for the staff of each facility to efficiently execute all of those tasks after becoming proficient in them.
Therefore, in principle, property management will be conducted by the General Affairs Department after categorizing them, daily management will be outsourced as much as possible, the original responsible department will focus on operational management, and preservation management will be handled by the Department of Urban Development, allowing multiple organizations to actively engage with a single facility.
Recently, the changes in the socio-economic situation have been rapid, and the demand for administration is becoming increasingly diverse and sophisticated. Amidst the declining birthrate and aging population, we must achieve the maximum effect with limited financial resources. Therefore, the internal mechanisms of the organization, such as its structure and personnel appointment system, need to be constantly reviewed.
We will continue to strive to maintain and sustain citizen services, so we appreciate your understanding.