Cut the Waste, Not the Waste Collection

Commenting on proposals to reduce Auckland’s refuse collection from weekly to fortnightly, Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance spokesman, Jordan Williams, said:

“Auckland Council’s finances are in dire straits, and clearly serious savings need to be found quickly. But it is ridiculous that the council’s first port of call is attacking core services like waste collection.

“Why is the council cutting back on waste collection of all things when it spent $114 million just last year alone on consultants and contractors? Why are ratepayers not getting the service they already pay well over the odds for whilst there’s still 70 spin doctors on the council books, all earning over $100,000 on average?

“Auckland’s net-debt-to-rates-income ratio of 525% is far and away the worst in the country, and unsustainable levels of spending need to be slashed. But Mayor Brown needs to ditch the wasteful back-office pencil-pushers, not frontline staff and vital services.”