everything done to perfection.

A funeral is a time for saying goodbye but also for reconnecting with friends and whanau. That’s why at Dils Hibiscus Coast, we put as much care into your reception as we do with every other part of the service. Our door is always open, so come by for a cuppa and discover the Dil’s difference.

“We’re between a rock and a hard place because we also face a 46 percent cut to our budget. All this contributes to taking apart the fabric of the community, which is what local government is all about.”

Mayor Wayne Brown says local boards are not being forced to recover administration and maintenance costs by charging everyone’s got to take a little haircut,” he said. “Until you put people under pressure, they sometimes don’t realise where money is being wasted.”

Brown said when his term as Mayor ends, “Council will be leaner at the top, and Council Controlled Organisations – Auckland Transport, Watercare, Tataki

Back Foot

Michael Irwin, Estuary Arts Centre

community groups more to lease Council owned spaces.

He told Local Matters in Warkworth last week that the proposed $16 million cut in local board budgets was to “try to get local boards to realise that there are other ways of doing things”.

“I don’t want anyone to have to cut their budget, but I inherited such a huge debt that we have to do something, and

Final week for submissions

Auckland Unlimited and Eke Panuku Development – will be very different. They will be more commercially focused, with a lot less management, reduced staff numbers and much more customer focused. They will be more about doing what people want, and less about getting people to do what some zealot in the city wants.” w Backstories www.localmatters.co.nz

February 21, 2022

Auckland Council is consulting on its proposed 2023/24 budget. The only local Have Your Say budget session offered locally, was held at Whangaparāoa Library on Monday, March 6. More than 30 people came to speak with local board members and Crs Wayne Walker and John Watson about issues of concern. Erosion on Ōrewa Beach was raised, as well as water quality, and some regional issues that fall outside the local board’s powers. The local board put up sheets asking for people’s views on the services they would like to retain, given that budget cuts will equal cuts to local services too. Among the areas people showed most interest in were library opening hours, a more sustainable approach to park mowing, climate action and grant funding. There was noticeably less interest in Council supporting local events. The local board will take these views into consideration as they look at their priorities for spending their limited funds. The Council’s 2023/24 budget is open for public submissions until next week – submissions must be in by 11pm on March 28. Info: akhaveyoursay.nz/budget and paper forms are available at libraries and service centres.