The incorporation of Auckland Council’s last six service centres into community hubs is rolling out, bringing the City’s integration programme to an end and boosting service options for residents.
The council has been on a four-year journey to create a more sustainable model of service delivery in response to changes in the way customers interact with Council services.
“More and more people are choosing to engage with us digitally through our online services, which means we’re seeing less in-person demand at our existing service centres,” Council said in a statement.
A work programme was started in 2020 that saw 18 of Council’s 24 service centres integrated into community hubs at Auckland Libraries.
“The integration of service centres into community hubs means people can come together in one place to interact, socialise, and access all the services they need, including free WiFi and computer access,” says Council General Manager of Connected Communities, Mirla Edmundson.
“For customers, this makes it more convenient for them as they will be able to do things like borrow books, pay their rates and get support around using our online services all in one place.
“Customers will also benefit from longer opening hours as library hours are often longer than service centre opening hours and many open on weekends.
“No council services are being stopped but rather, the location of where those services can be accessed is changing – from a stand-alone service centre to a community hub within a library.
“By integrating more of our services, we are creating a more seamless and connected customer experience – for both those who prefer online services and those who still wish to interact with us face-to-face or pay for their council services in person.”
Council’s Annual Budget 2023/2024 consultation document detailed further integration of service centres as part of the council’s cost reduction efforts.
Following consultation with staff on the change proposal for the six remaining service centres, Council made the decision to integrate Ōrewa, Warkworth, Bledisloe House, Waiheke, Henderson and Manukau service centres into respective community hubs, to be located within the local library.
“As the needs and preferences of our customers change, the way we deliver our services needs to change too,” said General Manager of Digital and Customer Services, Jon Andrews.
“Customers are increasingly expecting services to be delivered quickly and efficiently, and we want to make sure no matter what their preferred channel is – whether that’s face-to-face support from our staff or our online services – we are delivering a positive customer experience that meets them where they are.”
Ōrewa, Warkworth, Bledisloe House and Waiheke service centres will close and services will be transferred to the Ōrewa Library, Warkworth Library, Central City Library and Waiheke Library, respectively.
The Henderson and Manukau service centres will close and services will be transferred to Waitākere Central Library (Henderson) and Manukau Library, respectively.
