“Those options still stand,” Simpson said.
It is not clear whether a partial sale would prove popular with councillors.
Councillor Christine Fletcher has previously said she opposed a full sell-off but would support selling some shares in small holdings to Aucklanders only.
Councillor Andy Baker, who supports selling all of the council’s stake, said advice from officials was that there was no financial benefit to a partial sale.
Councillor Ken Turner told the Herald that he could be interested in a “hybrid” vote. While he did not elaborate, that left the door open to supporting a partial sale.
A budget consultation document said officials considered other options than selling the council’s entire shareholding, including a partial sale which maintained a 10 per cent “blocking” stake - which would allow the council to prevent other companies from buying or controlling the airport.
The document said this option would contribute less towards the budget mitigation target and would require other measures, such as rates rises or increasing debt. Brown’s budget currently proposes a rates increase of 6.7 per cent, in line with inflation.
Selling 8 per cent of the airport shares would provide a net benefit of $22m a year and cut debt by $850m, the consultation document said. A full sell-off would have net benefits of $48m a year and reduce debt by $2 billion.
However, officials warned that a partial sell-off would also have some knock-on effects on dividends, which would diminish the benefits of selling the shares.
Another factor in the budget vote could be potential conflicts of interest which have arisen in relation to the airport.
Council staff have been looking at all councillors’ and their spouses’ share ownership in case it created a conflict which could prevent councillors from participating in the vote.
Two councillors have been forced this week to amend the public record to show that they held a financial interest in Auckland Airport.
Julie Fairey and Chris Darby updated their declarations of interest to show that their spouses held shares in the airport.
Both councillors are believed to be against selling the council’s airport stake. If they were prevented from voting or stood aside because of a conflict of interest, the contest could become much tighter.
Auckland Council director governance and CCO partnerships Phil Wilson said whether share ownership created a conflict of interest could “only be determined on a case-by-case basis”.
Any elected members with financial interests in the matters being discussed at today’s meeting would need to declare them, he said.
Darby told the Herald he had not made a final decision on how he will vote today, and would wait until he had all the information and recommendations in front of him.
Several councillors are still wavering on their vote.
Waitākere councillor Shane Henderson said he was “100 per cent undecided” and was likely to be in discussions with colleagues right up until the meeting this morning.
Councillors Angela Dalton and Mike Lee confirmed to the Herald they would oppose the sale of shares.
Dalton said any consideration of selling airport shares should be part of a long-term discussion and not rushed through in the annual plan.
