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Last week Auckland Council voted to put its proposed 2023/24 budget out for public consultation.
The budget is designed to plug a $295m shortfall and therefore includes a lot of proposed cuts in areas such as grant funding, along with the possibility that some Council funded services such as Kauri Kids childcare and Citizens Advice Bureau, could close. Both the local Kauri Kids and Ōrewa Citizens Advice are strongly contesting the proposed funding cuts.
If it goes ahead, a proposed 5 percent cut to local board operational budgets will reduce spending on local projects.
At its business meeting on February 7, members of the Hibiscus and Bays Local Board said it is imperative that the community look closely at what is proposed and that their voices be heard through making submissions.
Members said they were disappointed that the financial information the board was seeking on things such as Kauri Kids in Stanmore Bay, was not yet received.
Deputy chair Julia Parfitt said such information is vital if the board is to make informed decisions that benefit local communities.
Albany Ward Cr Wayne Walker says councillors have also been seeking this level of financial detail.
“It should not be a one-size-fits-all approach,” Cr Walker says. “If, for instance, Stanmore Bay Kauri Kids is profitable, why close it? But we don’t have those figures in front of us.”
At the February 15 meeting, Cr Mike Lee registered this issue in strong terms.
“I want to launch a strong protest at the failure of management [Council staff] to provide councillors with spreadsheets of opex and capex to enable us to make a decision,” he said. “Months have gone by and management has stubbornly refused to disclose that information.”
Both Crs Walker and Watson say they don’t want to see cuts to Citizen’s Advice or other community-based funding.
“Through their volunteer base and services to the community they return way more than the money they receive. I hope there will be strong and plentiful public feedback to that effect in the consultation,” Cr Watson says.
In a press release issued in the wake of the floods the Mayor said the damage to the city and the need to improve its resilience and adapt to climate change may have implications for the Council’s 2023/24 and future budgets.
So far additional funding is proposed (see story p1), however other changes that could impact climate change effects, such as funding for environmental initiatives, have not been altered. There is the opportunity to make further changes after public consultation, before the final budget is adopted.
The local board is urging the community to have its say. Adopting a budget is a formal process, so feedback on social media, or in meetings does not count.
“We need collective action,” deputy chair Parfitt said. “The numbers submitting on issues of concern will be critical.”
The 2023/24 budget is out for public consultation from February 28 to March 28. Info: akhaveyoursay.nz/budget
There is also a Have Your Say session with local board members at Whangaparāoa Library on Monday, March 6, 1pm-3.30pm.
Feedback will be collated and considered by the Governing Body before final budget decisions are made on 29 June.
