Mayor Wayne Brown arrived at what is expected to be a day-long budget meeting wearing a Coastguard cap saying “Rescue Auckland” and told councillors: “Let’s land on a plan and get on with it.”
In an introductory speech, Brown said when the budget process began last December the focus was on tackling the big financial challenges and strengthening the physical resilience of the region “and not just kicking the can down the road”.
He said there was broad support from the public for the draft budget and he had largely responded to the feedback to find more money for transport, fairer funding for local boards and fixed an issue with Watercare to avoid a 25.8 per cent rise in water bills.
The mayor made a pitch to establish a wealth fund, to be known as the Auckland Future Fund, by selling most, if not all, of the council’s shares in Auckland Airport for a diversified range of securities to create a higher rate of return.
Brown said the fund would generate a higher return than holding the shares, saying it would benefit ratepayers by about $40 million a year.
