Budget ups and down for Coast

While a lot of public attention was paid to issues such as the selling of airport shares when Auckland Council settled on its annual budget on June 9, several local community groups were focused on potential cuts that could affect their continued services.

These included Council’s childcare centres, Kauri Kids (which has a centre in Stanmore Bay); as well as Citizens Advice Bureau, which has a branch in Ōrewa; and the HBC Youth Centre in Ōrewa.

Local councillors Wayne Walker and John Watson were surprised to see the Youth Centre singled out for a cut to its funding in the mayoral proposal for the 2023/2024 budget. Council staff said this was because it is the only regionally funded youth centre. The Councillors moved an amendment to reinstate the funding but were then able to confirm that the centre’s funding is secure for the coming year, as its annual grant of $100,000 goes from 2021 to 2024.

Meanwhile, the future of Stanmore Bay’s Kauri Kids still hangs in the balance. Council is withdrawing from the direct provision of early childhood education services as a regional service, which is estimated to save $1 million. However, individual centres may continue to operate as local services if local boards are able to fund them.

Cr John Watson describes this as a particularly distasteful part of the budget – “an example of this council’s ‘penny wise pound foolish’ culture of profligate spending meets mean spirited cuts to important community services”.

The Hibiscus and Bays Local Board will make a decision about the Stanmore Bay Kauri Kids funding at its July 25 business meeting.

The funding for Auckland’s Citizens Advice Bureaus (CABs) at one stage hung in the balance. But Council opted to retain that funding with several caveats including quarterly performance reports, the need for the impact of the proposal and take appropriate measures to address concerns or issues that arise and manage the complaints.

All the Council rubbish bins in red will be removed as a cost saving measure. Source, Auckland Council. Inset, Solar powered Big Belly Bins, such as this one in Gulf Harbour, cost around $11,000 each, but save money over time because they alert contractors when they need emptying.

Council staff gave the local board three days to get its feedback in. Deputy chair Julia Parfitt says the board raised issues such as the potential to save money by using smarter technology such as Big Belly solar powered bins, which are expensive but compress rubbish and emit a signal when full.

At the same time, the local board’s plan to install recycling bins around the community, to reduce waste to landfill, has been removed from its work programme. Council’s advice to the local board was that public recycling bins are not effective as people put general rubbish in them. This means the contents must all go to landfill –a problem that affects around 85 percent of the recycling put in public recycling bins.

CABs to seek funding from Government with the aim of having 50 percent of their funding from Government for the 2024/2025 financial year.

Cr Watson says local positives from the budget include the construction of the northern seawall at Ōrewa Beach and a comprehensive upgrade of the Ōrewa Library involving the renewal of roof, interior and fit out, which were two of the main projects programmed for 2023/24.

There are also a number of significant replacements and repairs to coastal infrastructure damaged during the storms at the start of the year to be either fixed or scoped for work in the future. The local board also has cause for relief – the proposal to cut funding by $12m across all local boards, was reduced to $4m. The final budget has to be agreed to at Auckland Council’s meeting this week, on June 29.