Off to Strategy and Finance Committee (Updated)
Off to Speak at Strategy and Finance Committee On Manukau [Updated with Committee Agenda now added] This Thursday I will be off to Town Hall to give a five-minute presentation to the powerful Auckland Council Strategy and Finance Committee (the committee that oversees all budgetary functions of the Council including expenditure requests and rates settings) … Read more
Spinning The Spin
Mayor’s Office has Six Spin Doctors? I kid you not in the fact that the Mayor’s Office with an annual budget of over $3.2 million (of our ratepayers’ dollars) just hired a sixth spin doctor according to Kiwiblog: From DPF’s Kiwiblog: Len’s gaggle of spin doctors February 16th, 2013 at 3:00 pm by David … Read more
2013 – #3
Who will Be the Next Mayor or Councillor Another blog ran a post on who will be mayor and who will be our councillors that make up the next Auckland Council after we post our ballots next year for the Local Government Elections. I was searching through my posts from this year and … Read more
An Investigation
Rates Due to Hike Again – So Time for An Investigation Okay, some idiot in Council mentioned rates and rates rises again giving the hapless ratepayer a sour stomach as we approach Summer and the Silly Season (although for Council, it is always the Silly Season with the Ratepayer Credit Card). Here is a … Read more
Len’s Cuts Cut Locals
Hypocrisy of The Mayor Against our Local Boards Really Cuts the Community Up The Chair of the Orakei Local Board – Desley Simpson said this to my comment on loose Council spending: Daniel Newman Thanks George Wood, I think one of the bitter ironies is that all the preelection talk was about empowering communities, … Read more
Time for Some Accountability and Performance
Auckland Council Accountability and Performance Committee to Meet Thursday 13 September the powerful Auckland Council Accountability and Performance Committee meets. Looking through the agenda (embedded below) it seems seven Council Control Organisations (CCOs) are up for giving a report to the Councillors (and Mayor) before the Committee (which is essentially the entire Governing Body) … Read more
Lets Dig Ourselves a Nice Hole!
Who In Council is About to Dig a Nice Hole? That being a $30 million HOLE after the Long Term Plan (2012 – 2022) has been set in (virtual) stone and monies both in and out “accounted for.” Well it seems after the former Manukau City in which Len Brown was Mayor rejected this … Read more
PERVERTING OUR COURSE OF REDRESS AND OPINION? Ctd
Isolating the Environment Court – Unacceptable On the 3rd of September, I had picked up (From Whale Oil) and subsequently wrote a piece here at VOAKL on a possible attempt at perverting a ratepayer (amongst others) course of redress and opinion through the Environment Court. Upon doing my usual links through Twitter (follow me through Twitter … Read more
Budgeting Priorities
Rates Go Up – Services Go Down Another day and another Local Board bearing the brunt of fulfilling our resident Prude – The Mayor’s call to reduce spending at Local Board level. From Stuff reflecting on Albert-Eden Local Board‘s pressure to save the cash: Concern at board cost cuts EMMA WHITTAKER Services will … Read more
