Governing Body Adopts Mayoral Budget Proposal – to be sent to Budget Committee

Written by Ben Ross - Talking Auckland

General Support, issues with individual points – as expected

Earlier this morning Mayor Len Brown handed down his proposal for the Long Term Plan in which the Council adopted to send to the Budget Committee next week.

Probably a presser might come out later today but the big talking point was transport.

In general the Governing Body supported the Accelerated Transport Package which will include the provisional Transport Target Rate of $2/week for residential properties and $3/week for commercial/industrial properties. What the Governing Body also supported in General was a scaling down of the Auckland Plan Transport Network from $300 million a year to $170 million a year.

What proved to be a clanger was this:

Brewer just said push to get Central Govt to fund 50% of CRL pretty much ASAP not 42% at 2020 #ltpakl2015

….

That is Councillor Brewer was wanting the Minister of Finance to add into The Budget a line to fund 50% of the City Rail Link as soon as possible rather than 42% (or thereabouts) in 2020. Yes a few of us were checking with each other to see if we missed something but we didn’t. So on that admission we will hold Councillor Brewer to his word.

Project specific wise I noted a few things in the scaled back Auckland Plan Transport Network:

  • Otahuhu, Manukau and Pukekohe Interchanges, and Pukekohe Electrification to be brought forward
  • Road projects scaled back
  • Increases to public and active transport mode investment
  • City Rail Link a go

Effectively at this point in time the Mayor handed down the Generation Zero Essentials Budget by in-large. However, while the Governing Body in general supported the Mayoral proposal today it will be picked apart at the Budget Committee next week before going back to the Governing Body for ratification and thus brought into operation. 

So it will be very interesting to see if today’s goodwill holds and the Long Term Plan gets through without too much bloody noses. Or it will just fall apart into one giant cluster-hole and out go a pile of Councillors next year.

Ball back to them