Misuse of Ratepayers Funds

Misuse of Ratepayers Funds

I have just received information that Tataki Auckland Unlimited has established a digital tool designed to help Small businesses to adapt to climate change.

I believe that they have achieved this in conjunction with climate experts; MBIE Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment; Ministry for the Environment; Employers and Manufacturers Association; Sustainable Business Council; National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) and other organisations.

Tataki Auckland Unlimited is an Auckland Council-controlled organisation that was set up as economic and cultural agency committed to making the region a desirable place to live, work, visit, invest and do business.

Climate Connect Aotearoa, established by Tataki Auckland Unlimited on behalf of Auckland Council, has launched a new digital tool called Climate Wise. Climate Connect Aotearoa was established in October 2022 and is funded by Auckland Council.

The new tool empowers Auckland small businesses to build climate resilience.

It is a: Free digital platform which offers practical resources for managing climate risks; designed to help small and medium-sized businesses adapt to climate change.

It provides practical tools and resources to help Auckland businesses identify and manage climate-related risks.

Where does the Auckland Council get a mandate to spend ratepayer’s money to support businesses, particularly in these tough current economic times where there is huge pressure on the ratepayers with rising rates of inflation?

While it may be a great thing to address Climate Risks at the present time in my opinion there is no justification for using ratepayer’s money to do so; money that could have been spent in improving our public infrastructure such as the sewage disposal and roading networks.

In my opinion this is misuse of ratepayer’s money and probably comes very close to being a case of malfeasance in office.

The Auckland Council had NZ$12.5 billion of debt outstanding at the end of December 2023.

Where does the Auckland Council get its funding?

Obviously the best-known source of funding is from general rates, but more than half of their operating revenue comes from other sources, such as: water charges & public transport fares.

What is Auckland Council responsible for?

The Auckland Council is responsible for; planning for and delivering transport, infrastructure, and urban regeneration, and also delivers programmes and projects for pest control revegetation and supporting biodiversity.

Auckland Council like many others is facing major financial challenges, with a forecast budget shortfall which had grown to $295 million for the 2023/2024 financial year.

The widening shortfall between council revenue and spending has been driven in part by successive councils growing the range of services provided for Aucklanders outside of their core responsibilities. This has resulted in a legacy of under investment in infrastructure.

This has helped to create a rise in the costs of investing in, maintaining and operating those assets and services, with additional funding pressure coming from the need to put aside money to fund future asset replacement.

Over the past couple of years, economic conditions have been more challenging than ever with the increases in New Zealand’s inflation rate.

The main areas of impact for the council are in contracts linked to inflation increases (for public transport, roading and facilities maintenance), interest costs and workforce costs.

The council is required by law to balance its budget.

It is also important that its budget choices are credible and sustainable and avoid unreasonable shocks for Aucklanders both now and in the future.

I believe that the only credible options are either:

• reducing operating spending across Auckland Council and its Council Controlled Organisations; or
• increasing general rates; or
• using reserves to lower the debt levels.

Auckland Council needs to ensure that they are staying well within financial borrowing policy limits to ensure that ratepayers are protected from further financial uncertainty.

Given the current financial challenges that they are facing with a forecast budget deficit of $295 million for the 2023/2024 financial year it is unbelievable to me that the Auckland City Councillors could possibly think that it is a reasonable choice to be developing systems such as this, to support businesses at the expense of the citys ratepayers.

Surely any prudent person would prioritise their spending better and ensure that money spent would be on the provision of core services and infrastructure which have been severely constrained due to lack of funds.

Sure Climate Change must be addressed, but not at the expense of the ratepayers for the benefit of privately owned businesses.

It is not Auckland Council’s job to provide support for businesses; that should be the sole domain of the businesses themselves, their own support organisations and central government.

How many millions of ratepayer dollars have been spent developing this “Climate Wise” tool when there is a severe deficiency in funding for both maintenance and new development of public infrastructure?

As far as I am concerned I believe that the Auckland Council has in effect “STOLEN MY RATES MONEY TO FUND A TOOL THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN FULLY FUNDED BY THE END USERS – privately owned businesses.”