Auckland Council Chief Executive Stephen Town responds to the Communication and Engagement Review conducted under the council's Value for Money programme.
“The Value for Money reviews are required under the Local Government Act and were commissioned by the Mayor and councillors to look at cost effectiveness and efficiency across the council group.
“The first four reviews will be reported to the Finance and Performance Committee on 6 November.
“The council will carefully consider and respond to the recommendations in each of the reviews.
"The Communication and Engagement review notes that Auckland Council is within the mid-point of a central government benchmark as a percentage of total operating costs.”
A key contributing factor to overall staff costs is the transfer of additional functions into the Communication and Engagement department from other parts of council, such as community engagement and consultation staff. Capabilities such as a design studio have also been built up in house to achieve significant savings through efficiencies and reducing external spend.
The NZ Herald story today incorrectly reported that salary costs in communication and engagement were $45.6m. This is incorrect. The total operating budget for all Communication and Engagement activities across the group, including wages, is $45.6m.
All reviews will be made publicly available next week on the Infocouncil website ahead of the Finance and Performance Committee meeting.
