Auckland households are now paying the highest average rates in the country, according to Ratepayers’ Report, a nation-wide local government league table published by the Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance with the Tauranga Ratepayers' Alliance and the New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union today. The report is available at www.ratepayersreport.nz

Ratepayers’ Alliance spokesperson Jo Holmes says, “The Super City is back at the top of the league after previously losing out to Carterton District Council for two years in a row. Phil Goff’s farewell present to Auckland households is an average rates bill of $3,656 - a 17% increase since 2018.”

The figure includes the average domestic water and wastewaster bill for 2020/21.

“Despite claims of fiscal responsibility, Goff and his Finance Committee Chair Desley Simpson have presided over some of the worst council finances in the country,” Ms. Holmes says. “Debt is up 26 percent since 2018, with total liabilities for the Auckland Council Group increasing from $12.6 billion to over $16 billion in the 2020/21 financial year.”

“The cost on Auckland ratepayers has been punishing,” Ms. Holmes says. “But where is our value for money? The central business district is a mess, traffic is worse than ever, and the Council often fails to provide even the most basic of services.”

With a payroll approaching $1 billion in 2020/21, the Ratepayers’ Report found Auckland Council Group employs more than 3,000 staff earning over $100,000.

“Many of these roles are of questionable value to the ratepayer,” Ms. Holmes says. "The report reveals that the Council is paying 221 staff more than $200,000 per year."

“The next Mayor and Council must look for massive cost-savings. The obvious place to start is with a reduction in the number of grossly overpaid executives and middle managers clipping the ticket."

© Scoop Media