Auckland Council weeks away from estimating cost of storm and Cyclone Gabrielle

Auckland Council is yet to put a price on the hit it’s taken from the anniversary weekend deluge and Cyclone Gabrielle.

Council officials are still trying to gauge the impact and are weeks away from a first real estimate.

Chief financial officer Peter Gudsell has assured councillors that it has the ability to absorb the immediate costs, through a range of measures such as borrowing, setting rates and changing spending priorities.

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Councillors were almost evenly divided on how strongly they should direct the organisation and its agencies to hold “discretionary” spending until the fiscal picture is clear.

Albany ward councillor Wayne Walker said not only was there the cost of weather events so far, but cyclone season was not over.

Expenditure control and procurement committee chair Maurice Williamson wanted to “direct” the council and its agencies to pause “discretionary” spending, but that was ruled invalid.

Mayor Wayne Brown agreed councillors could not direct, but could encourage.

A change to “encouraging” consideration of “stopping or limiting new discretionary spending” also proved contentious.

Albert-Eden-Puketāpapa ward councillor Julie Fairey said everyone had a different view on what was discretionary and what was a must-have, a definition the council was already trying to clarify in other work.

Franklin ward’s Andy Baker said he did not support the message, calling it a waste of time and a bit insulting to staff who understand the council’s financial position and don’t need councillors to keep telling them.

Pointing to the council’s work to close a $295 million deficit in the next budget, the chief executive Jim Stabback said: “Right across the organisation we are, absolutely applying the brakes to any choices we’ve got where it makes sense, to slow down, to meet budget commitments next year”.

The question of whether to “encourage” restraint over discretionary spending, came down to one of the closest votes yet for the fifth Auckland Council, with supporters of the message, including the mayor Wayne Brown prevailing 11-9.