​Legitimacy of Auckland Council savings questioned by councillor

Amongst budget discussions one councillor challenged the legitimacy of Auckland Council savings.

At the External Governing Body meeting on June 29 Cr Christine Fletcher was concerned about the legitimacy of Auckland Councils savings.

“How much of the savings that we are talking about … is actually deferral,” Fletcher asked.

Fletcher said savings were important and justified councils need for amalgamation.

“Can we genuinely stand behind all those press statements we have seen saying how much in savings we have made this year?”

Mayor Phil Goff responded that savings were legitimate but did not answer how much of councils savings had come from deferrals.

“We are using 50 percent of the floor space that we had from the legacy councils,” Goff said.

Goff said the reduction resulted in $180 million of savings that would have gone into maintenance and renewal costs over the last 10 years.

“The $2.4 billion in savings since 2010… those are savings that staff say are real savings.”
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Auckland Council exceeded its $90 million saving target for the financial year by $700 thousand however $2.3 million were saved from Covid-19 related project delays.