By the end of the first financial quarter this year, Auckland Council has locked in 62 per cent of its $86 million annual savings target.
$53 million in savings has been achieved by 30 September 2025 through the council’s continued management of costs across a range of activities.
Presented at this week’s first Value for Money Committee, chaired by Deputy Mayor Desley Simpson, the savings results are continued progress on last term’s $600 million financial benefits.
“Savings directly contribute to keeping rates down and result from the council’s continued focus on greater efficiency across all projects and investments,” says Deputy Mayor Simpson.
“For every $26 million of planned savings in the council’s budget, a general rates rise of around 1 per cent is avoided – meaning without these savings, rates would have been around 2 per cent higher so far this year."
Of the $53 million in savings to date, $47.2 million are annual enduring savings which bring ongoing repeated value, alongside one-off savings.
“Enduring savings continue to add value every year and so these are the type of savings we like to see, as they continue to keep rates down.”
The savings were delivered through changes to service delivery, insurance premium savings, improved non-rates revenue, organisational improvement initiatives, and implementing decisions made in the Long-term Plan 2024–2034 (LTP).
Under the LTP, the savings target increased by $20 million from the 2024/2025 financial year and includes a $5 million target for the Value for Money Committee to identify.
