Auckland Council delivered savings of $8 million in November, bringing the total saved so far to $95 million or 79 per cent of the 2020/2021 target of $120 million.
Finance and Performance Chair Councillor Desley Simpson says, “We are making good on our commitment to deliver a leaner and more efficient council. This is a great result and a huge achievement in such a short space of time.
“We still have some way to go to reach our target and while that is not going to be easy, our commitment to protecting the essential services Aucklanders rely on remains strong.”
Mayor Phil Goff says that with COVID-19 expected to have a $1 billion financial impact on the council by 2024, it was essential to be a leaner organisation and find more effective and efficient ways of doing things.
“We are now almost 80 per cent of the way to the $120 million savings target established in the Emergency Budget,” he said.
“That’s encouraging progress but we still have more work to do. We will continue to push for value for money from council spending to ensure we are delivering savings to ratepayers, while protecting the quality of the services we provide.”
Notable savings for November include:
- $2 million of Sport and Recreation Facilities Investment Fund additional deferral of current year unallocated budget
- $4.71 million permanent savings from organisational structure changes, including the reduction of vacant roles and some redundancies
- $420,000 one-off savings from reduced utilities costs from facilities closures due to COVID-19 lockdown
- $260,000 ongoing savings from Regulatory Services’ fringe benefit tax reduction through the use of automated vehicle tracking to inform tax payment obligations
- $200,000 permanent savings through favourable contract procurement for fire and security systems maintenance.
