Auckland Mayor Phil Goff’s excuses for continuing ahead with his planned rates hikes, despite the financial turmoil caused by COVID-19, don’t add up say the Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance.

Jo Holmes, a spokeswoman for the Alliance says, “Mayor Goff claims that the books have been well managed, but he can’t freeze rates because the Council’s debt to income ratio makes that too hard. It shows his financial management wasn’t so good after all.”

“We certainly don’t support piling even more debt onto the Council’s books. That would just kick the can down the road so tomorrow’s ratepayers have to cough up even more. But there is another way: cutting back on low priority spending and reprioritising the money saved.”

“On a per ratepayer basis, Christchurch City Council has even more debt than Auckland. If Lianne Dalziel can find ways to cut costs in Christchurch and freeze rates, Phil Goff can too. Based on Mr Goff's comments on the radio yesterday, he’s not even trying.”

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