Auckland Mayor Phil Goff is facing a new allegation of bullying. Photo / Greg Bowker
Auckland Mayor Phil Goff is facing a new allegation of bullying. Photo / Greg Bowker
Auckland Mayor Phil Goff is facing a new attack from council critics today.
Among them is a claim by Rodney councillor Greg Sayers that the mayor bullied him last year over the so-called "pillow tax".
The latest attack comes from Sayers and Albany councillors John Watson and Wayne Walker, three of nine councillors who wrote a letter of dissatisfaction to the mayor on June 11.
A mayoral spokesman said this morning the mayor was unable to respond as he is working constructively with councillors to deliver a transformative 10-year budget for the region.
What we see is a real arrogance permeating the organisation and it is impacting on the treatment of local communities
, Sayers said Goff threatened consequences for him and his constituents if he failed to back the "pillow tax" during intense lobbying on the new tax on accommodation providers in last year's budget.
Auckland Mayor Phil Goff is facing a new allegation of bullying. Photo / Greg Bowker
The mayoral spokesman denied any threats were made to Sayers, saying the mayor had responded to the claims at the time.
Sayers' claim comes a day after he gave a "bouquet" to the mayor over his handling of a Local Government Commission report into a request from northern Rodney ratepayers to break away from the Super City.
The report declined the breakaway plea but recommended a number of changes to improve relations between the city-based council and the northernmost local board.
Sayers said the feedback he had received from the people of Rodney was that it was an open, robust and transparent process, and thanked the mayor for providing more money for road sealing.
The mayoral spokesman said thanks to the new regional fuel tax of 11.5 cents a litre, which Sayers has opposed, Auckland Transport are about to start improving safety on up to 30 roads in Rodney. The tax will also go towards road sealing and other transport improvements in the area.
Sayers is the fourth councillor to have used the term 'bullying" in relation to dissatisfaction over Goff's leadership style.
Councillor Sharon Stewart claimed she was bullied over the implementation of a regional fuel tax, councillor Chris Fletcher said "bullying is any form is unacceptable to me" in a letter to Goff, and sources say finance committee chairman Ross Clow told his colleagues he had been bullied by mayoral staff.
Clow has not denied the claim, believed to have been made at a meeting to clear the air between Goff and his critics.
Sayers said there are other examples of the mayor chastising him in council meetings when, in protest over the poor management of projects, he resigned from the Strategic Procurement Committee.
This was disputed by the mayoral spokesman who said that at the time Sayers resigned, he told the mayor it was because of a busy workload, not because of any issues at the council.
"In fact, Cr Sayers thanked the Mayor for his support. The internal audit investigation into Councillor Sayers' allegations of financial mismanagement has found no evidence of wrongdoing," the spokesman said.
Sayers said he signed the June 11 letter to signal to the mayor he was "running local council like Parliament with an A and B team and that's established a culture of non-inclusiveness which I am seeing creeping into other council committees and local boards".
"Aucklanders deserve a co-operative team who are focused on delivering the best return on people's rates," Sayers said.
He said he was pleased to read that Goff has an "open door policy'" and hoped he has an open mind towards constructive criticism for improving Aucklanders confidence in council.
Watson and Walker said nine councillor who signed the June 11 letter have had enough of the unacceptable treatment of colleagues and the way the council is being run by a couple of hand-picked favourites.
"What we see is a real arrogance permeating the organisation and it is impacting on the treatment of local communities," said Walker.
He cited the recent example of the sale of the Orewa council offices driven by the mayor's $600 million asset sales programme. The decision was made to dispose of the civic centre without consultation with the community and against the wishes of the local board and councillors.
"This is meant to be a democratic council not some big overseas corporate," said Watson.
"It's there to serve its local communities fairly, listen to what they say and treat them with respect.
"If they're not even doing that with elected representatives there's not much hope for anyone else.
"While there are a number of great projects being delivered by Auckland Council, the trust and confidence is totally undercut by the sort of behaviour that has been highlighted this week. It needs to change, and fast," Watson said.
The mayoral spokesman said the "corporate property strategy" to sell a number of council buildings and provide a wider range of accommodation for local boards and communities was approved by a majority of councillors at a finance and performance committee.
It saves $117 million and retains all service centres, the spokesman said.
