KEY POINTS:
A senior Auckland City councillor has dismissed a staff proposal to put ordinary council services, such as parks and libraries, into a separate, commercially run company.
Citizens and Ratepayers' Doug Armstrong, chairman of the finance committee, said the public need not panic about the corporatisation of the services, which include Auckland Zoo.
But he confirmed C&R was interested in putting other council assets, such as Westhaven Marina, into a holding company, where they would be free from political interference.
Mr Armstrong said the holding company proposal, which spurred fears for the future of Auckland's favourite activities, did not apply to the "basic services which still merit council administration".
The proposal was not formally limited but would in practice apply to "overtly commercial activitieswith a strong private benefit", said Mr Armstrong. "Normal things that should be run by council administrators still will be."
The plan concerned council assets like Westhaven Marina which benefited specific people, namely boat owners, not the broader public.
Mr Armstrong said assets such as the marina would be more commercially viable under a board of specialised professionals.
"The library and art gallery are probably the last things we might put in this scheme," Mr Armstrong said.
"There won't be basic public services going under this entity, unless it makes sense."
Mr Armstrong said the only two examples that might be "overtly commercial" enough to put into a holding company were airport shares and the marina, and even those had a question mark over them.
He said that occasionally the council invests in property, which it needs for purposes like building roads, and this might best be managed by a board of professional directors.
And in this situation the land would still belong to the council.
Mr Armstrong said any assets under consideration would have to go through a rigorous public consultation process before being transferred to a holding company.
City Vision leader Richard Northey said the concern for Auckland's public services and facilities arose because an amendment, limiting the proposal to only airport shares, was rejected at the committee meeting.
Mr Northey said, "It remains a worry until we resolve the limits of what can go in [the holding company]."
Some of the worries may stem from a hypothetical use of the zoo as an example in the officers' report.
The report said the zoo "has a number of income streams but it currently receives operating subsidies from council".
"With the requirement to report to a board with more commercial expertise than the current enterprise board, the zoo could become more efficient in its operations or new funding models may be explored, both of which could increase the zoo's non-council income and potentially reduce the subsidy required."
