Wellington Council wage bill up 40% despite fewer staff

Tuesday, 27 May 2025

Ratepayers are paying for increased consultant costs and wages for council employees and contractors.

Consultant costs for the Wellington City Council have more than doubled in the past five years, while its wage bill has spiked by 40% despite cutting more than 100 staff.

It comes as a further 12% increase in rates is expected this year, as the city grapples with leaks and insurance and disagreements over how much the council spends.

In 2020, 17 employees were paid more than $200,000 a year. That number had risen to 39 as of 2024.

The Wellington City Council’s rates are expected to increase 12% this year.

The council’s total wage bill was $107 million five years ago, but rose to $151m in the 2024 financial year.

The bill for consultants has more than doubled, rising from $29m in the 2020 financial year to $59m in 2024. It spiked in 2023, with $64m spent, which included consulting services, legal services, technical services, architecture and engineering.

The council has increased its capital spending from $2.3b to $4.9b from 2018 to 2024.

As of April, the total number of staff employed was 1907, a reduction of 122 in the past year.

Council spokesperson Richard MacLean said salary and wage costs reflected the increased investment to the city and delivery of services to the community.

The council had increased its capital spending by 38% between the 2018 and 2021 long-term plan and then a further 52% up to the 2024 long-term plan.

In order to successfully deliver on investments that had more than doubled between the 2018 and 2024 long-term plans - from $2.3b to $4.9b - the organisation had been through a number of restructures and reorganisations of groups, he said.

“During this time, it was necessary to respond through increased capacity and capability across the organisation.”

The council operated in a competitive employment market impacted by high inflation and low unemployment, MacLean said.

“Our salaries and wages bill has grown over this time in similar fashion to other organisations that have provided market informed and fair increases to employees in response to these challenges.”

Wellington City Councillor Nicola Young said the Executive Leadership Team had doubled in size since she started as a councillor.

“That being said, we are not an organisation that offers market leading remuneration, we balance the need for fair remuneration against broader financial considerations. We also know that we, along with other councils, are seen as organisations that regularly lose staff to the private sector and to central government.”

The increased consultant costs could be linked to major capital projects including the Central Library, Te Ngākau and the Town Hall, the sludge plant, major roadworks including Thorndon Quay, cycle lanes and various earthquake-strengthening and investigation projects.

“We expect staffing and consultant costs to reduce markedly as these projects are completed in the next couple of years,” MacLean said.

Councillor Nicola Young said the executive leadership team had doubled in size since she was elected 12 years ago.

“It’s municipal bloat, coupled with an excessive use of consultants,” she said.

Councillor Tony Randle said the council’s refusal to look at staffing levels and efficiency meant the next council would have to.

Local Government Minister Simon Watts said in a statement that he thought councils needed to be delivering basics such as fixing water infrastructure, filling in potholes and picking up rubbish.

“The Government’s message to councils has been very clear: go line by line and ask whether your spending is actually benefiting communities and fixing these fundamentals.”

A bill being introduced in June will require councils to report on their use of consultants and contractors.