Savage cuts to service, events cancelled in council budget
Mayor says they cannot respond to this Covid crisis as business as usual
The real life impact of Covid-19 at Auckland Council has been laid bare with savage cuts to transport, reduced use of libraries and scaling back popular events like Matariki and Movies in Parks.
Mayor Phil Goff said the council has taken a $525 million hit in revenue from the pandemic — the highest faced by any council and the highest in the city’s history.
“This is an emergency budget. We cannot respond to this crisis as business as usual. We have to cut our spending and manage our finances responsibly,” he said.
Aucklanders face either a 3.5 per cent overall rates increase or a 2.5 per cent overall increase to take account of the hardship facing households and businesses.
Higher waste charges and a reduction in business rates means household rates would rise by about 4.5 per cent and 3.5 per cent under the two options, and business rates by about 2.6 per cent and 1.6 per cent.
Finance committee chairwoman Desley Simpson posted on social media that ratepayers are “going to need more than a Panadol”. Another councillor has called the emergency budget a “horror show”.
The big numbers spell out the challenges facing the Super City, but it’s the smaller numbers that spell out the everyday changes for Aucklanders.
Consultation on the budget opened yesterday and closes on June 19.
“There are tough decisions ahead of us but by working together we can build a better and stronger Auckland,” Goff said.
He said the 2.5 per cent option would require greater cuts in spending, with $50m less investment in community assets and transport projects to renew and make our roads safer.
This option would mean reduced footpath cleaning, closing some public toilets and removing litter bins, reduced maintenance and cleaning of public spaces at the city centre waterfront, he said.
Goff said a zero rates rise would cut vital council services, slash investment in muchneeded new infrastructure, push up debt levels and reduce employment and business activity in Auckland.
Simpson said after consultation, the
Our job now is to front the community and explain the hundreds of millions of dollars in proposed cost-cutting. Councillor Daniel Newman
council will have to make the difficult but necessary decisions that will enable Auckland to recover as quickly as possible from the Covid crisis.
Other proposals in the emergency budget include a Covid-19 rates postponement scheme to allow ratepayers who are struggling financially as a result of Covid-19 to defer up to $20,000 of their rates for the 2020-2021 year, and a suspension of the accommodation provider targeted rate to provide relief to the accommodation sector.
Councillor Daniel Newman said: “Our job now is to front the community and explain the hundreds of millions of dollars in proposed cost-cutting, which brings into question whether we can deliver vital projects like stormwater infrastructure and road safety initiatives.”
Meanwhile, Watercare yesterday announced a 2.5 per cent increase to water and wastewater charges from July 1 — about an extra $2.25 a month for the average household. Watercare chief financial officer Marlon Bridge acknowledged the financial strain of Covid-19 being felt by Aucklanders.
It also allows the council’s water company to continue with large, long-term investments, he said.