George WO<X( is a NoithShore)yard

councillor on the new Auckland

CounCIl77te~onnerthree-tenn
mayorofNo~ Shore City livesin
ForrestHlU . wlfeMyra.

"

,l

~...... --..

Trimming the fat ou of

Party, encouraging the National Govemrm to bring forward the start date
of the Central Rail Unk project. Ms ~r
was asking that the project start
at 2015 and not Ute later date of 2020. is got me Utinking as to how the
Auckland Council half share would be nded.
Now it isn't a secret that I am a scepti of the rail link tunnel beneath the Auckland
CBO, especially from an economic perspelitive. Rail has not been performing and
recenHy Auckland Transport pleaded wi1Il Auckland Council to relax the target for
passenger trips on rail this year. The 18rg, was set at 11.7 million trips but Auckland
Transport wanted this reduced to 10.5 million.
I have not heard a lot of North Shore r+Ple clamouring to pay more of their money
in rates, long term, to support this tunnel p'roject. Many North Shore people instead
would prefer to see more savings found fr&;; the huge comprehensive statements of
accounts of the Auckland Council Group a$ a better way to fund the tunnel.
This year through to 30 June 2014 ~Auckland
CounCil Group has an expenditure
of $2.775 billion. Aucklanders and especiillly people living on the North Shore believed
there would be savings under this new COfbined council. Now some savings well over
the one hundred million dollars figure hav~ occurred since 2010 but more should be
found. Working to reduce expendibJre esd.ecially intemal costs across the Auckland
Council Group would be a good start An atea to bring the blowtorch on would be the
cost of staffing the Auckland Council Group (Auckland Council and seven CGOs). This
year personnel costs across the Groupal e climbed $47.1 million from the figure of
$654.4 million to $701.5 million. This
not sound too promising when everyone
out there is hoping that the combined cou '1 would be making savings. Help,
however, could be on the way. Auckland pauncil is in the midst of a new $71 million
technologies upgrade, known as the Newere Programme, which includes major
improvements to the council's front-of-ho
computer systems. This system which
comes on stream in 2014 is promising to eliver a $10.6 million annual savings when
- it is fully implemented. I believe that North Shore residents would be hoping that this
will just be the start of real meaningful saJings being found.
The rapid increase in the number of ~Iaries over the $100,000 level across the
council group also needs to be addressedi The numbers being paid more than one
hundred ~sand
dollars per annum acrclss the Auckland Council Group has leaped
from 1250 to 1510 employees, in just 12 jllontl1s. As one councillor recently pointed
out this means that more people are being paid over the hundred thousand mark by
Council than could be fitted into the Auckland Town Hall.
A recent report by AlfT Univer;;ity on ~e State of the Auckland Super City
highlighted the increase in staff costs sillo/ the new Auckland Council came into
being. This report notes that the Auckland Council Group had personnel costs of
$497.5 million in 2011 and these costs adross the group are substantially above even
this figure. I will be calling fora huge effo~ to control and trim costs in the new term
of council. We cannot continue to allow ~
to drHt up in this manner. North Shore
residents are extremely concerned about ~e rising costs of running Auckland Council
and council needs to control internal ~
before we lurch off into borrowing around
$1.5 billion for the Central Rail Unk. 1t.~iIIlbe extremely important that the savings that
accrue from efficiencies gained induding Improved computer systems are not lost.
These systems are designed to make our~uckland Council Group much more efficient
and streamlined. That must equate out ~ lower our funding needs and therefore
lower pressure on ratepayers. Too often ~~a council environment there is a tendency
to add in the next projects that have not orn funded whenever savings are found.
Auckland Council must take a far more hfdnosed approach to. ensuring that cost
savings actually equate out to less presslf.~ for rate increases.
Let's hope there is a major dialogue ~ ratepayers from right across the region
in relation to the funding of the City Rail jnk project. People deserve to know the full
facts and in parltCij~,w/Jat impact this h ge project will have on our pockets now and

?2Z~~~'i;;;;;;~''''-''-''-'-''''''''
.

_'

"t'.

www.channelmag.co.nzlssue

37 - October 2013