A multimillion-dollar slashing of Auckland’s emergency response budget five years ago is being criticised by Mayor Wayne Brown following the city’s fatal floods - as a 1 per cent rates increase to boost its budget by $20 million is considered.
However, despite the possible rates increase, the $20m boost to Auckland’s storm response operating budget was one of the most endorsed proposals in the entire online public feedback process to Auckland Council’s new budget.
This endorsement of an additional 1 per cent rates rise comes despite the council’s effort this year to devise a budget that cuts services to fill a $295m hole.
Brown has taken aim at a historical reduction to Auckland Emergency Management’s [AEM] budget in the 2018 financial year by almost $3m - or 40 per cent at the time.
The total operating expenditure of the AEM budget fell from $6.9m in the 2017 financial year to $4.0m in 2018.
The budget has only gradually been increased over the past five years to sit at $4.9m in the 2022/23 financial year.
“It appears that the council’s Auckland Emergency Management capabilities were substantially degraded over this same time, and budget cuts may have contributed to that,” a statement from the mayor’s office said.
“The mayor sees this as another example of the council taking its eye off the ball of its core functions. He is seeking answers. He has also proposed significant additional resources in the budget to restore capabilities in responding to storms, which includes AEM and resilience capabilities at a local level.”
Sixty-nine per cent of Aucklanders agreed to increasing by $20m the operating budget to manage future storms.
The feedback came just in the months after the city’s January 27 record-breaking floods in which four people died.
A review into the systemic failings on the night commissioned by the mayor and undertaken by former police commissioner Mike Bush found a “system failure” of leadership in the first 12 hours of the response in which “much of the damage was done” before Auckland Council or Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown had taken any action.
Council director governance Phil Wilson acknowledged the need to increase the spending and resources of AEM following the critique of it after the floods and the damning Bush report.
“Should the council give final approval to additional funding, it will mean that AEM can be strengthened in areas key to the Bush review. And for that, emergency management staff will be very grateful,” Wilson said.
“It’s been a challenging period for them and they are acutely aware of the critique of performance on 27 January. But they now have a clear plan, have worked bloody hard and made good progress in key areas – despite needing to also deal professionally with repeated weather impacts over what is now more than three months. So while there is still much to do, improved resources in areas such as local response planning, communication and information systems will make a real difference.”
Deputy Mayor Desley Simpson provided some context around the proposed $20m increase and what it constituted in rates.
Simpson said that to fund the proposed additional $20m, the council will push rates up an extra 1 per cent on the mayor’s already proposed 4.66 per cent increase to help fill a $295m hole in the 2022/23 budget.
Simpson said out of all the questions asked in the budget feedback process, the 1 per cent rate rise for the storm fund was among the most agreed on - with 69 per cent approval from the public.
“Storm events cost us money, before, during and after the event,” Simpson said.
“The cost of the flooding In Auckland for the three known events we had this year has cost Auckland Council $17.2m. The removal of 6218 tonnes of flood waste including transfer station drop-offs, skips and flexi-bins, and street collections, cost approximately $3m alone. This excludes the $20m in the budget which is for next year, and it excludes the broader question of transport, water pipes, stormwater, building damage that we have to figure out how to fix – could be many millions once we are done.,” she said.
“It was the right thing to do to provide free services during the unprecedented weather we had, however, money doesn’t grow on trees and we have to be more proactive and have $20m ready for future events, which will come most likely with more frequency.”
Simpson indicated the $20m is for an all-of-council response for storm events and not just for AEM.
Wilson said the drop in AEM’s budget in 2018 was due to several changes to what resources and services it provided within Auckland Council.
“In line with the national review, the council’s then rural fire team shifted from our organisation to Fire and Emergency NZ, resulting in a reduction of nearly $900,000 in the budget,” Wilson said.
“In addition, some services that had previously been budgeted separately around the organisation were centralised. This means that they were delivered elsewhere in the council’s budgets, just not from a single AEM budget, and include communications and marketing activity (like campaigns) and delivery of fleet services.”
Wilson also accepted there was a $405,000 budget reduction in 2018 as part of “organisation-wide savings targets” for the council.
The council will be deciding over the next two months on approving the proposed $20m storm fund budget increase and the accompanying additional 1 per cent rates increase to Aucklanders.
The mayor’s concern over historical cuts to flood response comes as Auckland Council yesterday signalled it won’t compensate private homeowners whose properties were devastated by the Anniversary Weekend floods or Cyclone Gabrielle.
In a statement titled: “Mayor opts for storm resilience rather than retreat”, Wayne Brown said any use of limited public funds “needs to be prudent and consistent with public benefit”.
“Our current position is that Auckland Council is not a guarantor of private property interests, and we are generally not responsible for compensating property owners in case of loss due to a severe weather event or natural disaster.”
Auckland homeowners whose properties were devastated during the unprecedented flooding events say government buyouts must be on the table after the council signalled it won’t stump up with financial compensation.
West Auckland is Flooding (Waif) spokesman Morgan Allen said the council was responsible for consenting many properties that sit in high-risk areas or flood plains, which were now uninhabitable after this year’s natural disasters.
Properties in areas that were unsafe to rebuild in should be purchased by the Government so affected homeowners could have certainty to move on with their lives.
“We acknowledge Auckland Council is broke, they haven’t got the funds to do this,” Allen said.
“The Government must step in, the Government must provide.”
Kelly-Anne Burns never returned after being granted short-term bail to attend a funeral.