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Points of Clarification in relation to Ernst & Young report
Points of Clarification in relation to the Ernst & Young report
| Issue | Clarification |
| There were 64 room upgrades. The value of these upgrades based on rates provided by the hotels was $32,888 (pg. 11) | It
is standard commercial practice for hotels to upgrade
regular customers, and is a commonly used promotional tool
(as is the case, for instance, with airlines). The Mayor
never requested an upgrade. There is no simple or agreed method for accurately calculating the value of a hotel’s foregone revenue associated with any upgrade – which is the actual cost of an upgrade. |
| Gifts not registered include an i-Pad (pg. 13) | During a business delegation to China the Mayor was presented with a wrapped gift. This gift was opened by Council International Relations staff in New Zealand. Once the Mayor was informed it was an i-Pad he instructed that it be donated to a charity auction. |
| Shanghai dinner with a personal friend (pg. 10) | A personal friend was in Shanghai on business as an interpreter for an unrelated organisation. She provided translation services to the Mayor at meetings the day after the dinner at no charge. The dinner provided an opportunity to prepare for those meetings. By using his contact (as opposed to hiring an interpreter) the Mayor saved Auckland Council the expense that would otherwise been occurred. |
| Mobile phone reimbursements (pg. 5) | The report confirms that “it is not possible to calculate the cost of personal calls and texts to be reimbursed”. A 23 May 2013 Governing Body report stated: “Council’s current practice is that reasonable personal calls incidental to business do not need to be reimbursed.” And that: "Council has developed a new processing system for the reimbursement of personal calls which will be implemented shortly.” |
ENDS
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