Covid-19 coronavirus: Auckland Council sets up emergency committee and $22.5m fund

Auckland Council has set up an emergency committee and a fund of $22.5 million to manage its way through the coronavirus crisis.

The steps follow an assurance from council today that waste collections - considered an essential service by the Government - will continue as normal.

Planning committee chairman Chris Darby said there might be some delays but asked people to be a little big forgiving if a bin is not collected.

Councillors voted unanimously to set up the emergency committee with full decision-making powers. The committee will meet weekly and be chaired by the mayor and, in his absence, the deputy mayor. It will assume the functions and powers of the main committees.

Planning committee chairman Chris Darby. Photo / Herald

The committee will require a quorum of two councillors to be present. Most councillors will be able to attend by audio or audio-visual links.

Two members of the Independent Māori Statutory Board are included in the membership of the emergency committee and will maintain their current voting rights.

Councillors also voted unanimously to set up a Covid-19 Contingency Fund of $22.5 million and allow chief executive Stephen Town to approve urgent spending, which will be reported back to councillors at a later date.

Council costs from the coronavirus have been relatively small to date, but could increase for things like deep cleans of facilities and public places visited by people who test positive for Covid-19. Additional cleaning of public transport and freeing up council facilities and administrative staff to help the fight against the virus are other possible costs.

Mayor Phil Goff said the council was in unprecedented times, saying "it is a time of coming together and working together".

Putting the country into lockdown was a "big, big step" by the Government that will have a dramatic impact on everyone's income and the most severe economic consequence since the Great Depression of the 1930s, he said.

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Said councillor Greg Sayers: "It's very important for all of us to show leadership, which is coming through strongly."

Council's governance director Phil Wilson said "we think we can make this work and is absolutely appropriate in a healthy democracy".

Following the meeting, councillors headed into a private briefing led by the co-ordinator of council's Covid-19 response, Ian Maxwell, to get the latest information on the council's response to the virus.