June 19, 2002

Auckland City Council’s annual plan gets its finishing touches this week.

All the councillors will meet in the Town Hall tomorrow and Friday (June 20 and 21) to consider the thousands of submissions that members of the public have made on the annual plan over the past two months.

During the two-day meeting the councillors will vote on topics including:

- the sale of Auckland Airport shares

- the sale of council houses

- the setting up of a capital fund

- rates.

The annual plan sets out what the council will spend for the next year and how it will get the funds to pay for services - for example:

- managing parks and libraries

- operating 1480 km stormwater pipes

- collecting and disposing of 126,000 tonnes of rubbish

- looking after sports fields , recreation centres and swimming pools

- supporting Citizens Advice Bureaux, surf lifesaving and Youthtown.

The total rates the council needs in order to invest in and run its business is more than $300 million.

The chairperson of the council’s Finance and Corporate Business committee Councillor Douglas Armstrong will chair the meeting of the combined committees.

He says, “I’m sure the council will sign off on a budget that is prudent. The rates increase will be kept to a minimum. At the same time we’re making the biggest investment in infrastructure this city has ever made.”

The investment includes:

- building new roads

- upgrading swimming pools

- improving footpaths

- building community centres

- building a multi-court netball facility

- building a performing arts centre

- establishing a new park at Hillsborough

- improving the city’s stormwater system.

“All of these projects,” says Councillor Armstrong, “are about moving the city forward and providing the kind of facilities that people expect to have paid for from their rates.

“Auckland is New Zealand’s leading city and we need to make sure everything is in place so we can compete economically with the best Australian cities.

“The infrastructure must be in place so Auckland can be a great place to live in and a great place in which to do business," says Councillor Armstrong.

ENDS

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