Mayor’s blank refusal of ‘no confidence’ vote, very Muldoonist

Auckland Councillor Cameron Brewer says it is outrageous Auckland Mayor Len Brown denied councillors the opportunity to debate and vote on his role as chair of the Budget Committee that led to the latest fiasco and saw council’s 10-year $60b budget get through on a knife-edge in a 10/9 vote today.

Mr Brewer repeatedly tried to table his amendment “That the Governing Body expresses no confidence in the Mayor of Auckland as chair of the Budget” but Mr Brown refused to accept it for debate or a vote.

“He should’ve vacated the chair and let his appointed deputy handle that one. It’s outrageous that he made the ruling given the inherit conflict. What’s more he reminded us that he appointed himself as chair of the Budget Committee and it’s not for councillors to cast judgment!

“It’s very Muldoonist. Here we have a Mayor who also appointed himself chair of the Budget Committee and then denies councillors having a vote on whether we’ve had confidence in his shoddy performance leading up to this week’s complete shenanigans.”

“When he was censured in December 2013 by councillors he promised ‘a stronger working relationship and level of accountability between the Mayor and Governing Body.’ The fact that he had complete oversight of the budget and let this potential financial and constitutional crisis brew away for six weeks before ringing the Auditor General yesterday is only more proof that he’s learned nothing from the 2013 scandal and his self-appointment as the chair of the Budget Committee has been a complete failure. Thankfully that committee is now no longer.”

Mr Brewer says he was pleased to stand his ground and vote against the 10-year budget again with eight other councillors but is disappointed his amendment which would’ve ensured from 2016/17 a lesser amount would be required from ratepayers and more found within the council’s massive $3b operational budget to fund the $60m transport targeted levy revenue.

The Brewer/Quax amendment read: “That the Governing Body instructs the CEO to present an option as part of the 2016/17 annual plan budget preparations that commits to the transport targeted levy but at $58.99 from each ratepayer – a number referred to in the original LTP public consultation - and the rest is found within council preferably by cutting less than one percent of organisation's operating expenditure and reviewing concerning rail costs, and the Governing Body notes the level of the Uniform Annual General Charge will be reviewed annually.” Lost 9/10. For: Crs Brewer, Fletcher, Krum, Lee, Quax, Stewart, W Walker, Watson, & Wood.

Mr Brewer said one small victory he had was getting the level of the Uniform Annual General Charge (UAGC) to be reviewed annually in the council’s next Annual Plan round, instead of every three years when the Long Term Plan is reviewed.

“Six councillors wrote to the Mayor six weeks ago about their concerns around the transport targeted rate. He didn’t see the signals or placate any of their concerns and subsequently Len Brown again sent the organisation down another reputational spiral. Instead, he’s heading off to the ratepayer-funded council drinks party in the Aotea Centre tonight to celebrate this unmitigated disaster.

“Given the split council and increasing public disgust, the Mayor now needs to at the very least signal his intentions at the next local body elections. That would at least enable a leadership transition to begin and give the public greater direction as to where this ongoing nightmare is all heading,” says Cameron Brewer.

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