Big Salaries Lead To $30 Million Payroll Blowout In Auckland Council

The Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance says the number of Auckland Council staff paid more than $200,000 has increased by 32% since the year ended 30 June 2021.

On Friday, Auckland Council published the 2022 Annual Report including Financial Statements for the 12 months to 30 June 2022. Total employee benefits (including salaries and wages) increased from $963 million to $1.1 billion – which was $30 million overbudget.

Analysis by the Ratepayers’ Alliance has found that the number of Auckland Council staff paid salaries of $200,000 or higher increased by 32% from 74 to 98. However, this number excluded staff employed by Council-Controlled Organisations (CCOs). When CCOs were included, the number of staff paid $200,000 or higher was 257 in 2022, up 28.5% from 200.

These numbers include at least 44 staff within the Auckland Council Group earning more than Mayor Phil Goff, whose remuneration totaled $307,385 in 2022. 

Ratepayers’ Alliance spokesman Josh Van Veen said, “It is telling that despite massive redundancies in customer and community services during the pandemic, the number of senior staff has continued to grow.”

“Auckland Council spin-doctors claim that the $30 million payroll blowout is due to overtime, and the cost imposed by COVID-19 restrictions. But it is more likely to do with the fat-cat salaries of those who hold the purse strings.”

The Ratepayers’ Alliance welcomes a proposal by leading mayoral candidate Wayne Brown to reduce the salaries of those earning more than $300,000 by 30% and is calling on Efeso Collins to also back it.

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