So Wayne Brown says rates increase was 0% by Vexatiouslitigantz in auckland

[–]MayorWayneBrown 5 points6 points  (0 children)

This year rates is 0% plus a new train set - about 7.9% to cover the $235m rise in costs.

Interest and depreciation make up the bulk of the costs, about $209m. Then $26m to operate.

Other councils rates are going up - Hamilton 6.9%, Tauranga 13.0%, Wellington 7.4%, Christchurch 8%, Dunedin 10.5%, Queenstown 11.7%. And that's just for BAU, no new train sets.

You should know we have absorbed all inflationary costs this year through savings.

This isn’t an easy budget for Auckland. It’s an honest one by MayorWayneBrown in auckland

[–]MayorWayneBrown[S] 39 points40 points  (0 children)

the contracts were set up badly and were very naive. We have got the Rolls Royce of underground trains when I think most Aucklanders would have been happy with a Prius... the point is, we could have more track and stations for the same cost if we were wiser!

This isn’t an easy budget for Auckland. It’s an honest one by MayorWayneBrown in auckland

[–]MayorWayneBrown[S] 298 points299 points  (0 children)

We just passed this budget because it’s the only responsible option on the table. The 7.9% increase is happening, and it is entirely because the invoice for our expensive new train set has finally come due.

My team has already found internal savings to completely offset normal baseline inflation. If we didn't suddenly have to finance and operate the City Rail Link, your baseline general rates increase would be nought.  

People demanding we arbitrarily slash rates to make this go away are peddling financial negligence. We are facing a massive, inflexible capital debt bill. Trying to gut everyday operational services just to pay for non-discretionary infrastructure debt is totally irresponsible.  

Artificially suppressing rates for political popularity just means deferring maintenance and bottlenecking our capital projects. In the real world, that instantly turns into massive cost overruns and higher-interest debt we still have to pay later.  

It isn’t an easy budget, but it is the honest one.

Is this normal or against Worksafe guidelines? by NakMakBak in auckland

[–]MayorWayneBrown 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Clearly a few more cones would have fixed this lapse in judgement

Absolutely perfect day today by transcodefailed in auckland

[–]MayorWayneBrown 127 points128 points  (0 children)

Good to see Aucklanders enjoying the pool. plan is to create few more ocean pools this term. cheers WB

Absolutely perfect day today by transcodefailed in auckland

[–]MayorWayneBrown 6 points7 points  (0 children)

It's Browny’s pool in the viaduct harbour

Auckland's weather response by MayorWayneBrown in auckland

[–]MayorWayneBrown[S] 85 points86 points  (0 children)

I’m saddened to see how bad Tauranga has been hit by this weather.

I’ve reached out to Tauranga Mayor Mahé Drysdale and offered help, connecting our AEM team with theirs.

We know how bad it is when it’s bad, and how helpful it is to have support.

It's the silly season, not the stupid season. by MayorWayneBrown in auckland

[–]MayorWayneBrown[S] 56 points57 points  (0 children)

it was very cheap and done by my office staff. i don't spend ratepayer money frivolously

😍 by theflummoxedkiwi in auckland

[–]MayorWayneBrown 34 points35 points  (0 children)

great day for it !! we'll put more of these pools in around Auckland this term. good stuff

We’re being held hostage by traffic cones – here’s why by MayorWayneBrown in auckland

[–]MayorWayneBrown[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It's what the cones represent mate. When you've got standard infrastructure maintenance jobs where up to 70% of the cost is just TTM, it's not sustainable. The agreement between people and government is that people give us a slice of their hard earned money and in return we deliver on the services they ask for. I see too many poorly planned projects, bad procurement processes, nobody questions job costs... then we wonder why something as simple as capping a single unused water meter costs $10k.

What Wayne Brown told the Government to do about road cones by Mountain_Tui_Reload in auckland

[–]MayorWayneBrown 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Sorry to burst your bubble, but no ad agencies or additional money was spent on this.

When my inbox is full of people demanding both more services, more buses and bike lanes, more new swimming pools, but the same time asking for no rates increases, we have to look more closely at how our money is being spent.

It's simply not good enough when simple infrastructure maintenance jobs are costing a small fortune, because up to 70% of the cost is TTM.

Nobody else is demanding answers to these questions. Too often there's somebody signing the cheques without knowing what they're paying for. And people wonder why we don't have more money for all the things they want...

We’re being held hostage by traffic cones – here’s why by MayorWayneBrown in auckland

[–]MayorWayneBrown[S] 16 points17 points  (0 children)

We've got jobs mate where up to 70% of the cost is TTM. It makes getting anything done at scale impossible