Are ratepayers funding recipe books

Affordable Auckland Mayoral & Albany candidate Stephen Berry today called for the cost of a recipe book being provided free to Kaipatiki residents to be made public. “The latest rates bills saw residents of Kaipatiki facing an average increase of 16%. If their money is being spent haphazardly then they deserve to know.”

Stephen Berry says he doesn’t know how much ratepayer money has been spent on the recipe booklet. “Incredibly neither does anyone on the Kaipatiki Local Board. The decision to create the book was made by the Kaipatiki Community Facilities Trust, which is partly funded Kaipatiki Local Board. Nobody on the Board knows if the money was sourced from them or how much it cost despite there being a Local Board logo on the cover. Ratepayers deserve greater transparency when it comes to spending their money.”

Mr. Berry has committed to keeping rates increases below the level of inflation if he is elected to Council or as Mayor. “This is a realistic pledge if politicians are willing to be disciplined in their spending and respectful of the source of their funding. Should they continue in the frivolous vein that has seen the creation of $10,000 traffic light percussion instruments and $25,000 artificial beaches ratepayers will continue to face double digit rates increases every year.”

Affordable Auckland favours restricting spending by Councils and Local Boards to the core services specified in the Local Government Act. “The basic essentials such as parks, rubbish collection and footpaths should be well maintained and fully paid for by the Council. A recipe book certainly does not fall into that category.”

ENDS

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