Auckland Council cuts marketing budget

Updated at 6:56 am today

The Auckland Council is cutting millions of dollars from its spending on communications and marketing in the latest round of an efficiency drive.

 

The council has cut 38 jobs and brought more work in-house to save $4.3 million this year, and slightly more after that.

The spending on communications and marketing will fall to nearly $8.5 million.

The council said work has been centralised, and around $1.5 million saved through less outsourcing.

The re-structuring of communications and marketing is the largest cut from a series of reviews that have been underway. It has made 109 other staff redundant over the past year.

A larger review is nearly complete in the chief planning officer’s department which employs 538 staff.

Auckland Council has gone on the front foot, announcing the cuts in communications and marketing, 10 days before it unveils the first version of its proposed 10 year budget.

While there is no direct link between the two, the council is keen to portray itself as being rigorous with internal spending, before beginning debate on how much should be spent around the city.

The council has lifted its target for efficiency savings to $240 million a year, as it begins the task of setting the 10-year budget, called the Long Term Plan.

That may bring new charges for Aucklanders and a multi-billion dollar cut over the next decade, to the previously-forecast level of spending on new assets.