- By Laura Kvigstad, Auckland Council reporter funded by New Zealand on Air
The Auckland Council says it has achieved nearly half of its $66 million savings target for the financial year in the first quarter.
At the council’s recent revenue, expenditure and value committee meeting, a report tabled detailed the $31.9m saved at council in the last quarter, to September 30, 48 per cent of the $66m target for the financial year.
Council’s financial advisory general manager Brian Chan said operational savings over the quarter had been found through reducing promotion activity, consultancy and staffing.
“We were also able to improve fees and charges revenue from land advisory and bookable spaces,” Chan said.
The report showed the council chief executive Phil Wilson has achieved $4.7m in savings so far with $2.8m permanent savings through changing the leadership structure.
Revenue, expenditure and value committee chair and deputy mayor Desley Simpson said while some of the savings were one-off cost savings, several would be ongoing saving to positively impact future financial years.
“The $337m of saving were achieved over the past three years is forecast to grow to just under half a billion dollars by the end of this current year,” Simpson said.
Simpson said the savings would help to keep rates lower and reduce the council’s debt.
