On Tuesday this week, Auckland Council listed its Annual Report for 2020/2021 on the NZ Stock Exchange.
The full report is available on the Auckland Council website.
Key Messages
Read more on this in Vol. 1 p 14-15
· In light of significant threats, 2020/2021 saw a year of performance that was above expectations. The council has carefully managed its finances in response to these challenges, but ongoing uncertainty posed by future lockdowns and border closures and less water in our dams, means we must remain agile.
· Council’s priority must be to maintain its fiscally prudent approach while continuing to provide essential services and invest in critical infrastructure that Aucklanders need.
Sound financial management
Read more on this in Vol. 1 p 14-15
· Our prudent approach to managing our finances has helped us maintain our AA and Aa2 credit ratings with S&P Global Ratings and Moody’s Investor Services respectively. The Council has one of the highest credit ratings in New Zealand.
· We planned for a significant reduction in revenue in the Emergency Budget as a result of COVID-19 and the drought. The Auckland economy fared better than expectations and total revenue was $266 million ahead of budget.
· Total capital investment for the year across the group was $2.5 billion, just $110 million short of the highest spend ever.
Delivery – Value for Money
· Auckland Council’s savings for the year were an unprecedented $126 million, against the $120 million Emergency Budget savings target as a result of tight controls on discretionary spend and organisational efficiencies.
· A balance between prudent fiscal management and recovery meant the council group achieved a 95 per cent capital expenditure delivery rate for Aucklanders against the Emergency Budget.
· Auckland Council staff numbers went down by 3.2% (208), following on from the previous Annual Report where there was a reduction of 1% (78).
· Across the Auckland Council Group, staff numbers went down by 1.4% (154) with decreases across all the CCOs except Auckland Transport and Watercare as a result of contractors moving into permanent roles and drought response, respectively.
· We spent $1.1 billion developing and upgrading our roading and public transport assets, providing faster, more frequent, and easier connections across the region.
· We spent $408 million improving our water supply to help address water shortages. This included adding another $90 million litres a day, at a cost of $129 million.
· Reducing carbon emissions remained a focus. The Auckland bus fleet added 28 electric buses, a total of 33 low emission buses now in use.