“Mayor Goff’s 41 percent rates increase plus his unsignalled targeted rates will see residents paying 50 percent more rates within a decade with the money spent on an ever increasing bureaucracy,” according to Auckland mayoral candidate John Palino.

“Last year, council added 200 more officials to the 10,000 it already has. That increase consumed a major percentage of the revenue the Mayor got from increasing rates.

“Meanwhile, we still didn’t build enough homes to meet growth and congestion spread further into suburbs and formally quiet local streets.

“The only way Auckland is going to deliver enough homes and actually see an improvement in transport is to increase council productivity.

“I’m going to bring to improve council efficiency by bringing the strategy functions of the council into the Mayor’s Office. That will cut back on circular reporting to an endless line of committees.

“Low value council investment in neighbourhood intensification which is slow and expensive will stop.

“New investment in the region’s growth will be channeled into major greenfield areas where we can get economies of speed and scale in housing and construction.

“These measures will see Auckland get more km of housing, road and rail out of every rateable dollar.

“It’s the mayor’s job to set the strategic direction for Auckland and set a direction which works. Nine years of the same failed policies under an unresponsive council tell us its time for a new approach,” said John Palino.

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