‘HEAtED DEBAtE ovEr City CounCil finAnCiAls’

6LU

We would like to respond to a letter written by Paul 7aylor that was published on )riday September , . 7he 0babane &ity &ouncil is responding to correct a misunderstanding that 7ay lor’s response would perpetrate if not addressed.

7aylor is confusing the council’s annual meeting with a private sector annual gen eral meeting $*0 . 7he private sector is regulated by the &ompany’s $ct and companies’ articles of association. It is a specific company’s rules that prescribe the agenda of the $*0. It is that com pany’s specific rules that prescribe, as 7aylor puts it, that at the $*0 the share holders approve the financial statements and other resolutions.

2n the other hand, the council is a local government and not a private company. 7he approval of the council’s audited financial statements is prescribed by the 8rban *overnment $ct &lause , which states that it is the council and the minister who approve the financial statements. 7his is not uniTue to the 0babane &ity &ouncil but it applies to similar to how Parliament holds the (x ecutive arm of government to account. 5esidents and ratepayers who wish to interrogate individual budget line items are encouraged to stand for the council’s elections, where they will have ample time to do that.

)urthermore, the variances that 7aylor observed were largely due to changes in focus from year to year as different pro grammes of the council’s integrated plan aka strategic plan are implemented each year. )or instance, the rehabilitation of three recreational facilities, which are in the IDP, will reflect increased expenditure under the environmental categories and a drop in another category as the overall total expenditure were being controlled. 7his is why the notes to the financials explained the drivers of the overall increases as opposed to programmatic changes.

$t the annual meeting , the mayor presents audited financials and budget variances, as 7aylor knows, are not au dited but reviewed by councillors during the course of the financial year.

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