March 12, 2002

Auckland Regional Council Chair Gwen Bull describes as completely unjustified Auckland City’s mayor John Banks’s criticism that ARC rate increases are causing a large part of Auckland City Council’s proposed 9 percent rate increase next year.

“The ARC has not yet discussed the rate requirements for the 2002-03 year,” said Cr Bull.

“John Banks should get his figures straight before blaming the Auckland Regional Council for his own city’s financial blow-outs,” said Cr Bull.

In fact, ARC’s long-term financial strategy posted last May shows a planned 5.9% increase in ARC’s rates. This translates to just a 0.6% percent increase of Auckland City’s rates.

“John Banks obviously hasn’t bothered to work out his figures,” said Cr Gwen Bull.

“The ARC is not the cause of Auckland City’s own financial blow-out.”

“The ARC is keen to work constructively with Auckland City as well as the other councils of the region, and this kind of criticism is unnecessary and damaging. I demand an apology from Mr Banks,” said Cr Gwen Bull.

The financial facts:
In ARC’s Long Term Financial Strategy (LTFS), there is a 5.9% increase in ARC’s rate take budgeted for the next financial year, 2002-03.

In the current 2001-02 year, Auckland City Council was billed $32,377,131 by ARC minus a fee to assist ACC to collect the rates for the current financial year – 2001-02.

ACC’s total rate take in 2001-02 was more than $293,100,000 – so ARC’s proportion of Auckland City’s rate take is about 11 percent.

Assuming that final property values remain roughly the same in the next financial year, a 5.9% increase in ARC’s rates would translate to 0.6% increase in ACC’s rates.

Ends

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