The Council Administration Block, a 1950s Modernist building, near Aotea Square and Queen Street.

Auckland City Council is the local government authority representing Auckland City, New Zealand. It is an elected body representing the 404,658 residents (2006 census) of the city (which includes some of the Hauraki Gulf islands such as Waiheke Island and Great Barrier Island). It is chaired by the Mayor of Auckland, currently (from October 2007) John Banks.

[edit] Finances

In the financial year ending June 2007, Auckland City Council had operating revenue of NZ$ 552 million, of which 68% came from Council rates, which were NZ$ 859 per ratepayer on average. It expended NZ$ 343 million on capital projects, of which 45% went to 'transport' expenses, 19% to 'property and asset management' and 17% to 'open spaces, parks and streetscapes', while 10% were spent on 'stormwater and waste management'. Another 7% were spent on 'arts and culture' and 2% on 'zoo, recreational facilities and community development'. The operating surplus was NZ$ 40.3 million.^[1]

[edit] Elections

The councillors and the mayor of Auckland City are elected every three years. In the 2007 elections, the voter turnout was 39.4%,^{[citation needed]} down from 48% in 2004 and 43% in 2001.^[2]

Auckland City's council is currently dominated by the majority centre-right leaning Citizens & Ratepayers bloc. The composition of the Council is as follows: ^[3]

[edit] Functions

Amongst its other functions, the city council administers more than 700 parks and reserves throughout the country (2008 data).^[4] It also has, amongst other things, 2214 km of footpaths, though these are often in bad condition (30% being rated as "poor" or "very poor" quality), a matter often discussed in the media, especially after the newly elected Council chose in 2008 to reduce the annual upgrade budget by NZ$39 million to 218 million and reduced the budget for new footpaths from NZ$39.5 million to 5.7 million, as part of their campaign to reduce rates increases.^[5]

Auckland City, as part of its landscaping programmes, has planted more than 103,000 trees since 2002, with about 16,000 new trees in 2008, a rate that is estimated at about four times the current trimming and removal rate of public and private trees.^[6]

[edit] See also

• Auckland City

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Auckland City Council (official website)