Auckland Council is proposing to spend a further $20m a year on stormwater maintenance. Photo / Dean Purcell
Auckland Council is proposing to spend a further $20m a year on stormwater maintenance. Photo / Dean Purcell
Auckland councillors have approved a controversial budget for public consultation that only partially covers the financial impacts of storm damage across the city.
Mayor Wayne Brown said the cost of the storms would be significant but it was not possible to calculate a figure in time for the budget process to stay on track.
However, an extra $20 million for stormwater maintenance has been added to the draft budget, which contains a raft of cuts to address a $295 million funding hole and the cost-of-living crisis.
Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown said the council is between a rock and hard place. Photo / Michael Craig
An extraordinary emergency committee meeting today included the new money for stormwater, for things like more regular clearing of drains and increased emergency management. The funding was planned in response to the January 27 floods and before Cyclone Gabrielle unleashed its force on the Super City.
Key points in Brown’s first budget are a proposal to sell the council shares in Auckland Airport currently valued at $2.2 billion to reduce debt and interest repayments and reduce running costs at the council and council-controlled organisations by $125m.
But perhaps the most contentious proposals are plans to cut regional community grants by $20m and regional contestable grants by $3m in the areas of arts, culture and events. Local Boards are also being asked to save $16m.
The effects of these cuts could include fewer library hours, no money for Music in Parks and CultureFest, a $2 million cut to Citizens Advice Bureau offices in Auckland and cutting spending to address homelessness.
The proposed budget cuts could lead to shorter library hours. Photo / File
Tātaki Auckland Unlimited, the CCO that oversees major events, cultural activities and economic development also loses $27.5m of funding, leaving it with no ratepayer money for major events after 2024 and a few crumbs for economic development.
The budget measures add up to a proposed general rate rise of 7 per cent but with rating changes, it equates to a 4.6 per cent rate rise for households. The extra stormwater money is equivalent to an extra 1 per cent rate rise.
Several councillors complained about problems obtaining detailed financial information from officers on big-ticket items, when many community services are for the chop.
Albany councillor John Watson said there was little insight and transparency to councillors over the big costs, as opposed to the detail for “nickel and dime” cuts to things like closing a library for one day or cuts to the Citizens Advice Bureau.
Brown, who pledged to keep the zoo or museum an affordable treat in his inauguration speech last October, said he was not keen on making cuts in the budget but asked the public to understand the council was between a rock and a hard place.
The consultation process, he said, will undoubtedly produce responses that vary from what is being proposed.
“But you can’t just want the things you want without giving up something else. That’s the tricky part of this. It’s consultation, not a Christmas gift thing we are going for,” Brown said.
Reflecting the view of many councillors, Waitakere councillor Shane Henderson said today’s vote was not a vote to approve the budget, but to approve consultation so residents can have a say.
He said his phone had rung off the hook since the mayoral proposal on the budget was first released in December, saying the Waitakere community is incredibly passionate and incredibly concerned about the public service savings being proposed.
Public consultation on the budget runs from February 28 to March 28. After considering feedback, final decisions will be made by the governing body on June 6 for the budget to come into effect on July 1.
