The Auckland City Council was accused of running amok on spending yesterday.
Alex Swney, chief executive of the Heart of Auckland City Association, told an annual plan hearing there had been budget blowouts on pet council projects, but spending on stormwater improvements and public transport was down.
Spending on "leadership" was budgeted
at $7.9 million a year ago but came in at $10.5 million (the term "leadership" prompted another submitter on the plan, a former councillor, John Strevens, to note that the word was used 10 times on just two pages).
Mr Swney said more overspending, of $1.08 million, occurred in public communications.
But spending on stormwater improvements would be more than $1 million below the figure of a year ago.
"This plan does not propose to get spending back to last year's level of $16 million for another three years."
Budgeted spending of $50 million on transport eventuated as an actual spend of $44 million.
"If we are serious about our commitment to a transport solution for our city, do we accept this and further reduce our expenditure within this plan to $42.48 million, and expect any improvement?"
Mr Swney said the council was a bureaucracy run amok and one which could not stop tinkering with budgets.
Council officials were asked to prepare a report on Mr Swney's interpretation of the annual plan.
