1 October 2004

Media Release Hon John Banks QSO

Auckland City¡¦s performance - Good News from the Chief Executive

Auckland Mayor John Banks today congratulated Auckland City Chief Executive Bryan Taylor and the City¡¦s 1700 staff for the excellent performance achieved over the past 12 months.

Mayor John Banks acknowledged that as Auckland¡¦s number one cheerleader he was sometimes impatient for action.

¡§I am proud of the way that the City staff have responded to the ¡¥call to action¡¦. The Auckland City staff can put themselves on a pedestal and be very proud of the work that they do and the City they are building.¡¨

In a notice to staff reflecting on the City¡¦s huge list of achievements detailed in the Council¡¦s Annual Report, Chief Executive Bryan Taylor noted that:

¡§All areas of our business have seen success. When you package them all together you get a remarkable list, that we should all be proud of.¡¨

The annual report released this week covers these highlights and includes:

- The fact that we served over a million customers in our call centre with an 85 percent satisfaction rating and a big increase of online transactions;
- The launch of a targeted rate for our CBD customers, „h The upgrade of various community facilities and getting the Auckland Urban Design programme off the ground;
- The high profile Arena development; „h Purchase of Westhaven marina;
- The work around transport.

¡§That Standard and Poors also affirmed our "AA+ /A-1+ ratings is the icing on the cake, reflecting our strong financial position and placing Auckland City at the top of the field for governmental organisations,¡¨ said Mr Taylor.

Mr Banks noted that the many achievements have been made while overall rate increases have been kept within the rate of inflation.

Mr Taylor told staff despite the tremendous success, ¡§we can't rest on our laurels,¡¨ The challenge ahead is still how to manage the massive growth in Auckland and the pressures that it will bring on our infrastructure without a bottomless pit of ratepayer money.

ENDS

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