COMMENT BY cAMERON bREWER – 23 mAY 2016:
I didn’t ask for much in the 2016/17 annual budget: A modest lift in the UAGC to $450 – out voted; $250,000 to commence the design, consenting and procurement phase for a new Meadowbank Community Centre – well out voted; and for councillors to see a topline breakdown of the $3.6billion CCO and departmental annual operational expenditure to see how it was tracking compared to our Long Term Plan forecasts – denied! The NBR has picked up on it though…
NBR Online – 23 May 2016…:
More gagging
A move by the country’s councils to make capital expenditure the realm of councillors and operational expenditure the concern of staff only seems to be taking a hold at Auckland Council.
Auckland councillors have just signed off a 2016/17 $5.6 billion budget without knowing details of the council’s operational expenditure (opex) variations to the long-term plan.
“We don’t know where the $3.6 billion spent on the day-to-day operations of the council falls compared to the long-term plan,” says councillor Cameron Brewer.
Mr Brewer says figures presented to councillors had no breakdown of how the opex is spread across council controlled organisations and departments and how any variations are tracking.
“It is an absolute disgrace and shows how out of control council management is. The tail is wagging the dog. We have no idea how the opex compares to the long term plan and whether there are any overs or unders and why.”
He says councillors have been restricted to getting detailed figures on only the council capital projects budget and there was little about the operational budget in a report presented to the recent finance and performance committee meeting.
“It is operational expenditure that sets rates increases. Projected expenditure and variations against the actual budget are not known. For example, Ateed wanted an increase in opex from $50 million to $55 million and councillors have no idea if it was agreed.”
He says as elected representatives of the public councillors “we deserve to see more transparency on the numbers around top-line opex and the variations and explanations of how the 2016/17 budget should look.
“We don’t know how staff costs, services and depreciation are tracking. The numbers are dumbed down beyond recognition. Staff costs have increased year after year and are now quickly heading to a $1 billion budget.
“It is not about councillors getting involved in the day-to-day management, nor looking at the opex on a line-by-line basis but if we are going to be responsible as councillors we need to know how it is spread and the variations compared to the long-term plan.