Press Release from Peoples Choice

30 March 2007

CCO Directors up for extravagant pay rise

Peoples Choice is demanding answers from the Manukau City Council after it approved a 40% increase in Directors’ fees for two of its Council Controlled Organisations (CCOs) Manukau Water and Tomorrow’s Manukau Properties.

The increased fees were approved by the Council Corporate Governance Committee behind closed doors earlier this month, but have only just become public.

Peoples Choice Chairman Hamish Stevens said that the increases were outrageous when inflation was running at less than 3%. “Its particularly galling that when many small businesses and residents have been thumped hard by exorbitant waste water increases, the directors see fit to take an even larger share of the cake”

“Peoples Choice says it’s hard to understand why such large increases were recommended by Council officers. It’s not as if the business environment for these two monopolies has become any more difficult over the past twelve months”. We’re calling on the Council to outline its reasons."

“The additional cost will have to be charged on to ratepayers in higher water and waste water charges. I feel for the Mum and Dad ratepayers who will once again to be asked to stump up for this Council extravagance” said Mr Stevens.

ENDS

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