Auckland Mayor Phil Goff proposes a 5% rate increase

Auckland Mayor Phil Goff today announced plans to increase rates by 5 percent next year.

In his “mayor’s proposal” for a new 10-year budget, Goff said the one-time 5 percent increase from July next year would be followed by 3.5 percent rate increases thereafter.

The Recovery Budget, as he calls it, is a response to a $ 1 billion hole in the budget over four years due to the impact of Covid-19 while trying to maintain and renew community assets and respond to climate change.

In a press release, Goff was silent on whether households and businesses will also face higher water bills, which sources say could rise by 8 percent.

“This Recovery Budget aims to meet the challenges posed by Covid-19 and the massive financial impact it has had on the city, while ensuring that the burden on taxpayers is kept as low and fair as possible.

“This is not a slash-and-burn budget, but neither is it the budget we were hoping to put out at the beginning of the year. We have to accept that Covid has changed our financial landscape and change our plans accordingly.

“However, we will strive to provide the essential services on which the people of Auckland depend and to sustain the critical investments in infrastructure that our city needs, and which will play a vital role in stimulating economic recovery.”

Goff said the budget would involve:

• Achieve savings of at least $ 90 million each year for the next three years

• Sale of surplus properties to invest in critical infrastructure

• Temporarily increase indebtedness during the first three years, thereafter, returning to the current level

• Maintain a long-term commitment to a 3.5 percent rate increase. To respond to the Covid-19 crisis, this proposal includes a one-time rate increase of 5% to be introduced for the next financial year only, before returning to 3.5% the following year.

“Without a set of measures to counter the $ 1 billion financial hole caused by Covid, our city will back down,” Goff said.

“We don’t want a city full of potholes and neglected parks, so we must take more urgent action now.

“While not all Auckland residents will be delighted with a one-time rate increase of $ 36, it is a one-time measure that equates to less than 70 cents a week for the average property.”

“This increase will allow us to do more in transportation infrastructure, including addressing road safety, making our city more resistant to drought, continuing our response to climate change, protecting our kauri trees and maintaining our parks and sports fields.”

The Mayor said that now is not the time to cut back on our city’s infrastructure repair.

“We have been catching up with decades of underinvestment through our previous 10-year budget and we were making significant progress on our infrastructure deficit. We cannot allow that momentum to go to waste.”

To respond to climate change, Goff said that “we are immediately stopping the purchase of diesel buses, improving tree planting and reducing black carbon in our city center.”

“I recognize that this budget will not be everything to everyone. Many people would have liked to see us do more or, conversely, cut more. However, I believe that we have struck the right balance between ensuring that our city is doing the most. possible rapid recovery from Covid, but also recognizing that many Auckland residents are going through incredibly difficult times.

Last week, Goff surveyed councilors to read the mood on higher rates, water bills and other sources of funding, such as a specific rate for climate change. He has also been reviewing the latest advice from finance officers before finalizing today’s proposal.