My Account
In May, Auckland Council’s Finance and Performance Committee and 20 of Auckland’s 21 local boards strongly backed my Mayoral proposal for Auckland Council’s 10-year Budget 2021-2031, or Recovery Budget, which will be formally adopted this month. This follows over 150 hours of workshops and meetings as we worked together to examine all options for dealing with the $750 million financial hole in Council income caused by the Covid-19 crisis.
What we came up with enables us to maintain critical services and infrastructure investment and act on future challenges such as climate change. Overall, we will be investing $31.8 billion over the next 10 years in transport, housing and environmental infrastructure, and improving parks and community facilities.
Rather than taking an austerity approach in the face of this challenge, we have opted to maintain our investments in critical infrastructure builds and renewals, as well as the key services and facilities that Aucklanders rely on.
We have increased funding for capital projects by $900 million in the first three years of the budget. This maintains the planned work – despite the impact of Covid-19 – and brings forward important infrastructure projects to stimulate the recovery from the economic downturn.
Funding for renewals and maintenance has been increased by 50 per cent over the previous budget. Watercare’s infrastructure budget over the 10 years has increased from $5.7 billion to $9.7 billion. This will help ensure future generations of Aucklanders are not left with the consequences of a failure to invest in vital infrastructure, as we have seen in other cities.
To continue protecting our natural environment and native species, we are extending our Natural Environment and Water Quality targeted rates. We will also increase the Water Quality Targeted Rate in line with general rates rises. This will enable us to extend our focus on improving water quality, such as wastewater going into our harbours and beaches.
To fund critical services and infrastructure, we will lock in $90 million a year of savings from cost efficiencies, raise $70 million a year for assets through the sale of surplus properties, increase borrowing within prudent limits, and maintain our long-term annual average general rates increase at 3.5 per cent, with a one-off increase of 5 per cent next year.
We have kept rates increases much lower than other cities such as Wellington and Tauranga, where they are likely to be 13.5 per cent and 17 per cent respectively.
This approach allows us to maintain the investment necessary to stimulate recovery and make progress to build a world-class city, while keeping rates at a reasonable level.
The money invested in this budget will help Auckland pull out of the Covid-19 crisis, while addressing transport and traffic congestion, sustaining the environment, improving water quality and the resilience of our water supply, building more infrastructure for housing and tackling climate change.
It is a Recovery Budget that will keep Auckland moving.
Phil Goff, Mayor of Auckland
phil.goff@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz
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