My Account
Northern Action Group chair Bill Foster has blasted Auckland Council for using Regional Fuel Tax (RFT) money to fund non-transport related activities and for continuing to neglect to use the money for urgent sealing of Rodney’s roads.
Mr Foster’s complaint comes in the wake of the latest Auckland Council Annual Report for 2020/2021, which shows $255 million is sitting in a Regional Fuel Tax Reserve.
“This money could have been spent on Rodney’s roads but Auckland Council has other priorities,” he says.
The surplus has occurred because over the last three years Council has received $454 million in RFT but only paid out $199 million for designated transport projects.
Meanwhile, Mr Foster says funding in the reserve is being used to fund other Council spending – including debt expenses – with no requirement to return money to the reserve with interest.
Mr Foster’s complaint is echoed by Rodney Councillor Greg Sayers who raised the same concern last year (MM Nov 16, 2020)
“Auckland has a number of shovel-ready projects and I want to know why these haven’t been actioned,” he says.
“The answers I am getting do not wash. Saying the collected money will be spent eventually over the next 10 years is completely unacceptable when there are vital projects consented and ready to go.”
Cr Sayers says even if Council’s accounting practices are legal, they are morally wrong and should be corrected.
He says RFT monies should be placed in a separate interest-bearing trust and spent only on transport-related projects.
But Council manager of financial strategy and planning Ross Tucker says the reason for having money in the reserve is because of the timing difference between the requirements of the planned projects and the collection of the revenue.
He says the fuel tax revenue is fairly consistent at $150 million each year, but spending on projects varies each year.
“In addition, some large projects have seen some changes either from Government decisions or unavoidable delays due to technical factors such as design, land acquisition, procurement and consent,” he says.
Mr Tucker says while cash in the RFT Reserve may be offsetting other borrowing requirements in the short term, the RFT funding remains available to apply to the appropriate projects when necessary.
“Interest is not calculated on this cash management approach. Any savings on financing costs to the Council reduce the overall general rates requirement,” he says.
Around 80 per cent of Auckland’s 800km of unsealed roads are in Rodney. During the 2021/22 year, Council has allocated $6 million for road sealing, which is funded from a mix of RFT, rates and borrowing.
For the years 2018 to 2031, Council has allocated $40 million for road sealing.
The RFT came into effect in July 2018 and costs motorists in the Auckland region an extra 10 cents per litre on petrol and diesel fuel.
