Mayor delivers on prudence and transformation

Mayor Len Brown has hailed the passing of Auckland Council's first 10-year budget as a triumph of balancing prudence and transformation.

After an all-day council meeting thrashing out multiple changes to the draft Long-term Plan (LTP), councillors agreed this evening to adopt all of the Mayor's proposals in the 10-year budget.

"The time has come to step up and transform this city. The hopes and dreams of our young people depend on it," says Len Brown.

The Mayor's budget includes $1.7 billion savings and efficiencies and holds an overall rates increase to 3.6 per cent while maintaining council service levels and kick-starting the Auckland economy.

"It is a magnificent achievement in that we have absorbed the cost of amalgamation in the first 18 months, while still managing to deliver a rate increase of just 3.6 per cent," says Strategy and Finance Committee Chair Penny Webster.

Plans solidified in today's budget bring new jobs through an innovation precinct at Wynyard Quarter and a super-yacht refit facility now being developed at zero cost to ratepayers.

Alongside jobs, the budget underlined the Mayor's commitment to prudence by slashing the cost of a cruise ship terminal estimated to generate $370 million in GDP. It also limits debt to prudent levels for the next 10 years by following a strategy designed to protect Auckland Council's AA credit rating.

"The first meeting we had as a new council, I challenged the councillors to be builders and not termites. For just over 18 months we have worked together well, and agreed on the Auckland Plan with unanimity," says the Mayor.

"Today we celebrate clear and unequivocal steps towards transforming our economy. On this day we start defining and transforming Auckland. This is our opportunity to make the Auckland Plan live and breathe.

"The world's most liveable city starts today. We are not mucking around anymore. We are moving forward with pace and momentum. "