Phil Goff's message to council bodies: Do as you are told

Auckland Mayor Phil Goff is laying down the law with council bodies. Photo / Dean Purcell

Auckland Mayor Phil Goff is laying down the law with council bodies, telling their highly paid bosses to be more open and accountable and instructing Auckland Transport to lift its game on public transport.

Goff has also told the council's investment arm to ensure Ports of Auckland are clear there will be no further reclamation or wharf extensions into the Waitemata and the time has come to look at reducing or removing cars altogether from the waterfront wharves.

The messages to the six council-controlled organisations (CCOs), and copied to council chief executive Stephen Town, are contained in draft letters of expectation. The letters, much tougher than in the past, will be discussed by councillors at Tuesday's finance committee before being finalised.

Last night, the new mayor told the Herald that a clear message he heard on the election hustings was the term ''council-controlled organisations'' was a misnomer.

In a post-election response, he is delivering a blunt message to the CCOs to be more transparent and accountable, especially on financial matters; have a stronger customer focus; and engage better with local boards and the governing body.

Goff said residents and ratepayers do not want a silo mentality among CCOs and is expecting a stronger sense of collaboration and economies of scale through shared services.

He wants CCOs and council staff to adopt the attitude when they are spending money, they should spend it as if it is their own money. Next year, policies around sensitive spending on travel, hospitality and gifts will be tightened, including greater accountability.

"I don't like to waste money. I don't like to see money spent extravagantly. I certainly don't want that to be the way our council is perceived by the people who support it financially," Goff said.

In a general message in the draft letters, Goff said the council is ultimately responsible for the finances, performance and reputation of the wider group and the elected representatives are looking to CCOs to actively build cultures and behaviours to reinforce that accountability.

Goff has key focuses for each CCO, none more so than Auckland Transport, which he wants to aggressively pursue strong growth in public transport. In his sights are buses, "the backbone of public transport", with more bus lanes.

He also wants reduced journey times of trains, particularly through stop times at stations; and incorporating cycling and walking into projects.

Auckland Transport chairman Lester Levy said the board was strongly aligned with the mayor's message on public transport.

"We want to push it as hard as we can and as quickly as we are able to," Levy said.

In other messages, Goff has told Auckland Transport, Watercare and Panuku Development Auckland to work closer together on new development and growth challenges.

He said the council may develop guidelines for Watercare to avoid the situation where different arms of council give different responses to developers. This may please developers who want land zoned out of sequences, but can have a longer-term impact on the rest of council, the draft letter to Watercare says.

Goff's expectations for CCOs

Auckland Transport:
• Aggressively pursue strong growth in public transport
• Expand bus lanes and operating hours
• Reduce journey times on trains, particularly through shorter stop times at stations
• Make cycling and walking a priority in projects

Watercare:
• Play a bigger part in urban development and regeneration
• Make the issue of water savings visible to residents and ratepayers

Panuku Development Auckland:
• Ensure plans are integrated with other CCOs, especially Auckland Transport and Watercare
• Accelerate asset sales
• Ensure oversight of council's housing for older people assets

Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development:
• Greater focus on prioritising work and staying in line with council's priorities
• Strengthen economic development in poorer parts of Auckland

Regional Facilities Auckland:
• Drive better value and transparency in the cultural heritage sector
• Keep council well informed about plans for stadiums and assets in Aotea precinct

Auckland Council Investments Ltd:
• Ensure Ports of Auckland are clear about council's expectations for further reclamation and wharf extensions into Waitemata Harbour
• With Ports of Auckland and other parties, investigate how the impacts of cars on the wharves can be reduced or eliminated