A Victory for Ratepayers! Council Finally Asks “Rich Listers” to Take Pay Cuts

Jo Holmes
Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance

You may have seen in the media yesterday that Auckland Council has asked their staff paid more than $100,000 to take a voluntary pay cut. Since the news broke, we’ve been digging into the details.

A modest start

The Council is taking a tiered approach asking those paid between $100,000 and $175,000 to take a 5% cut, those paid between $175,001 and $275,000 for 7.5% and those paid more than $275,000 just 10% for six months. That compares poorly to Government Ministers (paid from $248,000) all taking a 20% cut.

Councils around New Zealand which pay their staff a lot less, are asking for 20% across the board for those paid more than $200,000. The Council’s request means Councillors will be asked to take a cut of only 5% (and most won’t even confirm that they’ve agreed to it!).

What we’re doing

Yesterday we wrote to every person on the Town Hall Rich List asking them to confirm whether they have agreed to take a cut, and the percentage.

We’re still collating the responses but I can report a significant win. The CEO of WaterCare (#1 on the list – paid $775,000) has told us he has agreed to a 20% cut over six months – i.e. a $75,000 sacrifice. This is our first significant victory resulting from the Rich List.

Phil Goff wants a mandate to hike your rates

In the next week or so the Council will be launching its so called “emergency consultation” on rates. But they’re trying to rig the vote by not including an option for a zero increase or temporary cut to rates! They want the public to choose between a rigged vote: 2.5% and 3.5%. When submissions inevitably favour the 2.5% option, Phil Goff will claim this means you support his rates hike.

We’ll be providing Aucklanders with both online tools and hard copy forms to have their say anyway. While the Council’s submission template won’t have boxes for zero percent or tax cuts, ours certainly will!

With your help, we’ll ensure Phil Goff’s cannot claim “most Aucklanders want a 2.5% a rates increase”!

We may not be able to fight the Council with big budgets, but with our people power we can ensure the voice of ratepayers is heard loud and clear.

If you enjoyed this BFD article please consider sharing it with your friends.