\u201cWorse, these figures are just the tip of the iceberg as they exclude the likes of Auckland Transport and Watercare,\u201d Williams said.<\/p>\n
Former Mayor Phil Goff spent $4110 over four years on consultants, compared to $2.5m by Wayne Brown over two years. Photo \/ Michael Craig<\/p>\n
Williams also criticised Brown for the mayoral office spending $2.5m on consultants over the past two years, compared with the $4110 Goff spent across four years, saying it reflected a dramatic shift in spending culture at the top.<\/p>\n
Brown did not specifically comment on the spending in the mayoral office compared to Goff\u2019s modest outlay. <\/p>\n
The 2023 financial year straddled both Goff and Brown\u2019s tenures. That year, the council spent $42.2m on consultants, including $423,000 from the mayoral office. The Herald has excluded these figures from being attributed to either mayor.<\/p>\n
The consultant costs<\/a>, which include payments to lawyers, provide a picture of where spending has risen, fallen or remained steady across about 80 council departments over the past seven financial years.<\/p>\n The ups and downs of consultant spending at the Auckland Council <\/p>\n Up <\/p>\n Heathy Waters (stormwater division) – up from $1.9m to $6.4mPlans and places – up from $2.2m to $8.5mMayoral office – up from $3100 to $1.6mRisk and Assurance – up from $129,000 to $1.6mPeople and culture – up from $492,00 to $1.1m<\/p>\n Down<\/p>\n Parks and community facilities – down from $13.1m to $1.1mCorporate support services – down from $1.6m to $193,000<\/p>\n There was a big rise in spending on consultants from the council\u2019s stormwater division, Healthy Waters, over the seven years from $1.9m to $6.4m, much of it storm-related and helping to fast-track the council\u2019s resilience programme, \u201cMaking Space for Water\u201d, said Tucker.<\/p>\n Spending by the council\u2019s planning department surged to $17m over the past two years, up from about $11m across the previous four, driven by natural\u2011hazard work and other Government\u2011required plan changes.<\/p>\n Legal costs<\/a> have held at about $9m over the past seven years, with Tucker noting a 42% rise in legal files, driven largely by flooding\u2011related issues and the buyout scheme for storm\u2011damaged homes.<\/p>\n One apparent anomaly is the Chief Economist\u2019s office, which spent $194,000 on consultants in 2020 but nothing in the other five years, while the Chief Sustainability Office recorded between $152,000 and $1.68m annually.<\/p>\n Tucker said the two offices operated differently. The Chief Economist<\/a> unit works mainly with internal staff, while the Chief Sustainability Office relies on specialist external advice not available in\u2011house, has a broader scope to drive Auckland\u2019s Climate Plan, and the $1.68m spend included work on storm resilience.<\/p>\n Tucker said consultants were used when specialist or technical skills were needed for complex or high\u2011risk projects, or when demand exceeded internal capacity.<\/p>\n Many costs, he said, were either recoverable or Crown\u2011funded, and accounting treatment can make expenditure appear higher when recoveries are recorded separately as revenue. <\/p>\nHousing reforms have contributed to the big spend on consultants. Photo \/ Jason Oxenham<\/p>\n