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1617 days ago

Auckland councillors agree to take pay cuts

Brian from New Lynn

Goff said he is happy to align with ministerial pay cuts of 20 per cent for the next six months. His annual salary is $296,000, meaning a 20 per cent reduction over six months would see him lose $29,600 before tax. Council chief executive Stephen Town said his executive team and the chief executives of the five council-controlled organisations are "actively considering the possibility of taking pay cuts and what they may look like". "Once a decision has been reached, we will make an announcement," Town said. Goff said a pay cut for elected members would require a law change, which he understood the Government may be considering. "If they don't I'd give the equivalent amount to charity," said Goff. Among the councillors who told the Herald they are prepared to take a pay cut are Chris Fletcher, Efeso Collins, Josephine Bartley, Wayne Walker, Greg Sayers, Cathy Casey, Pippa Coom, John Watson, Paul Young and Sharon Stewart. Hills said he was open to a 10 per cent pay cut or donating 10 per cent to charity for six months if there isn't a legal way to lower pay. Stewart said she was happy to take a pay cut in these difficult times to show support for those who have lost jobs or suffering wage cuts. Sayers said he would take a pay cut, but added the cuts may only save $500,000. Council should be doing more to make savings and reducing regulations to get the private sector investing heavily in the city, he said. Fletcher and Walker called on all councillors to be paid the base salary of $113,174 while only the emergency committee was operating during the crisis. Five councillors who chair major committees that are temporary on hold are paid $138,912.
The cost of salaries for elected representatives, executive teams at council and the CCOs, plus board fees at the CCOs was $33.5m in the 2019 financial year. Waikato District Council Chief Executive Gavin Ion said he has taken a 20 per cent pay cut for the next six months.
"For me, I believe this is one way I can acknowledge that there are people and businesses in our district who are hurting. My family support me in making this decision," he said.
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Executive and elected member salary costs at Auckland Council and CCOs*
Auckland Council
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Mayor and 20 councillors - $2.56m, including Mayor Phil Goff ($279,351)
21 Local Boards - $7.44m
Executive team - $4.12m for 11 staff, including chief executive Stephen Town ($697,692)
Total: $14.12m
Auckland Transport
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Executive team - $4,661,903m for 11 staff, including chief executive Shane Ellison ($560,000-$580,000)
Board fees - $497,700
Total: $5.16m
Watercare
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Executive team - $4,638,000 for nine staff, including chief executive Raveen Jaduram ($770,000-780,000)
Board fees - $443,000
Total: $5.1m
Panuku
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Executive team - $3,298,000 for nine staff, including former chief executive Roger MacDonald ($640,000-$651,000)
Board fees - $464,000
Total: $3.76m
Regional Facilities Auckland
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Executive team - $3,053,000 for 11 staff, including chief executive Chris Brooks (about $480,000)
Board fees - $410,000
Total: $3.46m
Ateed
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Executive team $1.6m for five staff, including chief executive Nick Hill ($420,000-430,000)
Board fees - $323,000
Total: $1.92m
Grand Total: $33.52m
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More messages from your neighbours
3 days ago

Poll: Should drivers retake the theory test every 10 years?

The Team from Neighbourly.co.nz

Drivers get where they need to go, but sometimes it seems that we are all abiding by different road rules (for example, the varying ways drivers indicate around a roundabout).
Do you think drivers should be required to take a quick driving theory test every 10 years?

Vote in the poll and share any road rules that you've seen bent! 😱

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Should drivers retake the theory test every 10 years?
  • 49.5% Yes
    49.5% Complete
  • 48.6% No
    48.6% Complete
  • 1.9% Other - I'll share below
    1.9% Complete
2627 votes
15 hours ago

Here's Thursday's thinker!

Riddler from The Neighbourly Riddler

I am lighter than air, but a hundred people cannot lift me. What am I?

Do you think you know the answer to our daily riddle? Don't spoil it for your neighbours! Simply 'Like' this post and we'll post the answer in the comments below at 2pm.

Want to stop seeing riddles in your newsfeed?
Head here and hover on the Following button on the top right of the page (and it will show Unfollow) and then click it. If it is giving you the option to Follow, then you've successfully unfollowed the Riddles page.

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9 hours ago

Why make picking up reserved library books harder? What do you think? Challenge: Write the last stanza for the first poem attached below.

Alan from Titirangi

Once books are reserved in Auckland Libraries books, when they are available no longer go alphabetically by customer but instead go into a Holds pickup shelf number based presumably somehow on when each book needs to be picked up by.

I had two books reserved that arrived on two different days in the Blockhouse Bay Library and hence each book has a different shelf number. Hard to find unless you knew the shelf number in the notification email. Even if you knew the shelf number I found myself three books by the same author on the two shelf numbers.

More recently yesterday a book I reserved was on a different shelf number than was specified in my notification email (see image below).

Sadly it is clear from library staff that a numerical system for reserves is here to stay.

I suggest that so that all books for each person has the same shelf number, the shelf number becomes the last digit of a person's library card (0-9).

Within each shelf number a book is found under the day the reserve arrives in the library (01 to 31, hopefully the same date the email is sent).

Since a customer appears to have 10 days to pick up a book, ten days of the month would appear to be required at any time (for each digit 0-9).

Once there are 10 days used the next day's reserves could go back at the beginning of the shelf number after any remaining books not collected (hopefully none) are removed (along with the old day number and the new day number (01 to 31) inserted) after the last day available and future days' books remaining moved forward to make room.

Each day number (01-31) would appear once for each shelf number (0-9) before the first book on that day- perhaps cover an old withdrawn book with paper with each day number on the spine?

When a reserved book arrives in the library the last digit of the library card could be placed on a piece of paper in the book to be removed when it is put on the shelf, to be recycled the next day.

What do you think?

See the image below and page 3 below for a letter appearing in the Western Leader on 9 September:
www.neighbourly.co.nz...

PoemReservingBooks.pdf Download View