Court action is a last resort, says frustrated council chief

Auckland Council says it has exhausted all attempts to secure rates payment from Penny Bright and moves to recover the outstanding amount through the courts are a last resort. This follows a seven and a half year process that is being driven by an ideological point of view, seemingly not financial hardship.

“Ms Bright has made wild and inaccurate accusations about the council and its probity and is using this as the basis for not paying her fair share to the ongoing running of Auckland. These assertions are completely unfounded and her actions are at the expense of all Aucklanders,” says council chief executive Stephen Town.

“I personally tried to contact Ms Bright yesterday in a last ditch effort to secure a resolution to this situation. Instead, she has resorted to further legal action which is both disappointing and frustrating.

“The council goes out of its way to assist many Aucklanders to meet their rates obligations. Last year, 20,051 Auckland ratepayers qualified for a rates rebate and we also agreed to 337 rates payments being postponed. Ms Bright has not taken up any of our offers to work with her on a suitable repayment plan.

“It’s the council’s responsibility to ensure fairness and equity for all Aucklanders and rates are the lifeblood of the effective running of the city. While I respect Ms Bright’s right to a point of view, her extreme perspective should not be at the expense of everyone else,” says Mr Town.

Similar court action is being initiated for a total of eight cases of long-standing unpaid rates and Ms Bright was second on the list of historical long-standing debts. There are currently approximately 179 ratepayers who are being reviewed with a total of approximately $2.5 million outstanding rates.

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