Wellington mayor Tory Whanau. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Wellington mayor Tory Whanau. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Wellington mayor Tory Whanau had the numbers to withstand a slew of late amendments to the city council’s draft budget.
But she needed the casting vote of Long-term Plan, Finance, and Performance Committee chairwoman and Labour councillor Rebecca Matthews to reject many of the proposed changes to spending plans.
The draft annual plan, which proposes a 12.9 per cent rates increase, went before the committee this morning. The rates increase is 12.3 per cent after taking into account growth in the ratepayer base.
Councillor Diane Calvert emailed two pages of final amendments at 10pm yesterday, although she later said colleagues were given a heads up on these in the middle of last week.
The mayor’s office confirmed the substance of the amendments had been communicated earlier.
Calvert said the amendments were from herself and councillors John Apanowicz, Tim Brown, Ray Chung, Sarah Free, Tony Randle, and Nicola Young.
There were 15 amendments to the draft budget they wanted the committee to approve.
The amendments were designed to find cost savings and keep rates down, although council officials did not support them and said some would actually have the effect of increasing rates.
Free argued rates would be decreased overall after all the amendments were properly quantified.
Calvert said she wanted to simplify her message by talking about the rising cost of eggs, which has been a topic of discussion in her household recently.
She quoted one of her daughters: “Man, eggs are nearly a dollar each.”
Calvert went on to ask a series of questions including whether it was right for the council to buy more eggs than it could afford and whether councillors should hold off buying a shiny new coop when the current one would do.
She noted Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has renewed the Government’s focus on bread-and-butter issues.
Calvert wondered whether he was thinking of an egg sammie.
Wellington City councillor Diane Calvert. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Young thanked her fellow independent councillors for trawling through Excel spreadsheets over the weekend to come up with the amendments.
She said it was important for ratepayers to know there was a considerable bloc, although not a majority, of councillors who were desperately concerned about the rising cost of living.
Randle said he was “the guy who did the spreadsheet” and the council needed to pay its way.
“Moderate cuts in some areas would at least send a signal that we are listening to the pain that’s out there.”
The proposed amendments included reviewing spending on a new cycling network and refocusing it on key routes, deferring some Let’s Get Wellington Moving projects until the bus service was more reliable, and putting the contestable Green Building fund on hold.
But councillor Tamatha Paul labelled their alternative proposal as an attempt to delay critical infrastructure, slash spending on climate change, and cut funding to the arts.
“What sort of city, after looking at this proposal, do you want to be living in?”, she asked her colleagues.
“And I also add that climate action delay is the new climate change denial and this proposal is climate change denial.”
Several points of order were raised during the debate on the amendments, to which Matthews urged councillors to “just chill”.
Committee chairwoman councillor Rebecca Matthews told her colleagues to “just chill” after several points of order were made. Photo / Mark Mitchell
From the outset, Matthews said she wanted the meeting to be over by midday - implying she would not be tolerating the drawn-out and sometimes tedious meetings of the previous term.
Councillors agreed to put the draft budget out for consultation at what felt like lightning speed.
The meeting was over after just one and a half hours and in time for morning tea at 10.30am. Public participation was heard last week.
Whanau said the budget came at a time when the future was a bit cloudy.
“I know things are tough at the moment with the cost of living, climate impacts, and the world economy, but we must invest to build a resilient city of the future.”
She said the council must crack on with work to transform the city and it was unfair to leave future generations to deal with the problems of today.
Whanau acknowledged the councillors who had tried to find cost savings.
“I know that your position comes because you care about your communities and I know there’s lots of talk in the community about rates. As city leaders, we should keep in mind that rates are a consequence of what we do for the city and no more.”
She said it was appropriate to have robust discussions over the annual plan as it was a political environment.
Whanau promised she would listen to what the community had to say during consultation.
