Wayne Brown’s Auckland budget: 7.9% rates increase, a $50m hole and CRL opening date
Monday, 1 December 2025
Auckland’s City Rail Link could be open as early as July 1 next year according to mayor Wayne Brown’s new budget but, along with several other cost pressures, it’s meant the city has a $50 million fiscal hole to patch.
Auckland Transport and CRL Limited have been tight lipped about the opening date of the new underground rail system, but the council has to budget for running it and has gone with an “assumed go-live date”.
Brown has released his draft proposal for the 2026/27 financial year which will be debated before Christmas and out for public consultation in late February.
He cites the expected operating cost of the CRL in proposing a 7.9% average rates increase for Auckland households next year.
Brown acknowledges that it is “higher than [he] would like”, yet staff have recommended potentially consulting on more to give “sufficient budget flexibility to address emerging risks”.
Overall the council has budgeted to spend $3.9 billion on infrastructure and $5.3b to keep its day-to-day services running.
In amongst that spend is a projected operating budget gap of $50m. The council will have to make cuts or find the money - in addition to $106m in already budgeted savings to be found by deputy mayor Desley Simpson’s new value for money committee.
Among the reported causes of the fiscal hole is a deficit of $10m in public transport ticket revenue and parking fines, which the council blames on the “prevalence of hybrid working [from home]”.
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Ironically, the council is also having to spend an extra $12m due to unexpectedly high rates bills on its own properties, which council staff say is due to “higher asset valuations” than budgeted for.
The council also needs an additional $14m to meet staff KiwiSaver costs in light of a required increase of contributions from 3% to 3.5%.
Another $15.2m is also needed to address “financial pressures” faced by local boards, with seven local boards expected to have to find $6m by reducing service levels or setting new fees or targeted rates.
“I believe we can continue to work on resolving the issue without any consultation on drastic service cuts,” Brown said, but he did not rule out “prudent service level changes”.
The board areas affected include Devonport-Takapuna, Henderson-Massey, Māngere-Ōtāhuhu, Ōtara-Papatoetoe, Papakura, Upper Harbour and Waitematā.
Brown’s budget proposes to meet the boards’ increased costs by “increasing certain fees and charges”, introducing “local activity targeted rates”, selling “underutilised” reserve land and amalgamating some local board services like pool management.
The mayor is also trying to nudge ahead with $34m in asset sales as part of a full review of council’s property assets, which he says has been disappointingly slow.
“I expect staff to advise on how asset sales can be sped up and how I can assist,” he said, proposing a “a property sale pipeline that prioritises retaining only the very best performing property and quickly selling the rest”.
This includes a review of public reserves that Brown suggests could “offer better attributes under different zoning”.
Meanwhile staff have been instructed that there is a spending freeze with no new investment proposals or “budget bids” to be submitted unless specifically requested by elected members.
“I said I would fix Auckland. That is what I’m doing,” Brown said.
‘Criminally underutilised’ assets and the CCOs
Brown has also listed “immediate interventions” he is proposing for Auckland’s CBD.
It includes removal of unused bus stops as well as what he calls “inappropriate parking restrictions” and bus lanes.
Brown also proposes to review the City Centre Masterplan document to focus on traffic flow and “east-west connection”.
He also wants “a complete rethink” of public spaces which he says remain “criminally underused, or in the worst case scenario, used for criminal activity”.
This could mean more commercial activity in public spaces like food trucks, which could generate revenue for the the council.
He also takes aim at Te Ara Tukutuku, an unfunded waterfront park proposed for Wynyard Point, which he says needs “revisiting and rescoping”.
“Browny’s Pool has been a great success, proving that you don’t always need to sink a whole lot of capital to build well-used public facilities … I want more Browny’s Pools and expect advice on potential future locations,” he said.
Brown said his reform of Eke Panuku, now the Auckland Urban Development Office (AUDO), had already paid dividends but he reiterated his expectation that it be a “front door” for developers wanting to work with the council.
“Perspective needs to be applied; are we getting in the way of progress? If the answer is yes, then we need to get out of the way.”
He said that Eke Panuku’s urban regeneration programmes, overhauling town centres, had been “overly slow” and too subject to “market risk” and AUDO needed to think differently about the “level of intervention” required.
The other big item that Brown addresses in his proposal is transport reform, with many of Auckland Transport’s functions now coming “in house” into council by September 2026.
Brown said that would necessitate a six-month transition plan, with “well over 1000 staff” and their responsibilities being shifted over.
“The council is about to become a road controlling authority, like all other councils. This will be a big adjustment for us - and the sooner we get to grips with that, the better,” he said.
Brown said the current structure had led to “overly complicated” decisions and an “unreliable reliance on consultants”, resulting in “very low levels of public acceptance”.
“Ultimately, I want to eliminate the dumb stuff that infuriates me and ratepayers.”
Meanwhile AT will continue to hold its role of managing public transport which, according to Brown, 90% of Aucklanders are satisfied with.
It will be in charge of the new CRL and will also be tasked with thinking about how integrating a national ticketing system might impact Auckland.
Looking to the future, Brown also said he wanted to look at a uniform annual general charge (a flat rate charge for rates bills) as well as targeted rates for funding stormwater infrastructure.
In the meantime, the council is expected to borrow $17.2b in the financial year, which it says leaves its debt to revenue ratio at a “prudent” 225%.