Auckland Council bans rates feedback from ratepayers
The Auckland Ratepayers Alliance reports on some underhanded ratbaggery from Phil Goff and his council:
Earlier in the week submissions closed on Auckland Council’s Annual Budget – the document which sets rates for the financial year beginning in July.
As per usual, your team at the Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance sent in a submission on behalf of hard-working ratepayers like you (a summary of the submission is below). We asked to present in person to Councillors, as has been common in the past. One of the issues the Council will be considering is Phil Goff’s proposal to increase the wages of the Council and impose a “living wage” for all staff. We had lined up an expert labour economist who used to work for the Department of Labour to present to Councillors.
We’ve now discovered that to avoid having to listen to ratepayers, Councillors resolved not to allow people to submit in person on this year’s budget. They didn’t even want us – New Zealand’s largest ratepayer group – to present. They said ratepayers are not a ‘key stakeholder’. Read more »