• Howick and Pakuranga Times
The furore over Mayor of Manukau Len Brown’s personal spending on his mayoral credit card, money since repaid, has sent the media scurrying for councillors’ remuneration and travelling expenses.
A list of gross payments to councillors, which includes environmental meeting fees, general and mileage expenses, claimed between November 1, 2007 and May 31, 2010, has been supplied to the Times by the council. It is an indicator but not the final word because some of the claims are retrospective.
Also some councillors have yet to make claims relevant to the period, instead electing to carry them at personal cost.
Howick councillor Sharon Stewart claimed a total of $25,384.10 of gross payments in the period, with David Collings (Pakuranga) claiming $17,460.97.
Of the other East Manukau councillors, Jami-Lee Ross (Howick) claimed $16,442.03, Maggie Burrill (Botany-Clevedon) $13,618.59, Dick Quax (Pakuranga) $10,836.50 and Michael Williams (Botany-Clevedon) $7526.07.
A large proportion of the claims are for mileage, particularly for paid and other special hearings.
The councillors are paid flat salaries, not meeting fees, with salaries reflecting position and workload. The workload is based on the number of meetings the councillors are expected to attend.
But meeting fees are paid for environmental hearings because it isn’t possible to determine the number of hearings required, and a separate hourly meeting fee is paid for resource consent and private plan-change hearings.
Totals on the schedule for attending paid and environmental hearings include mileage at 70 cents per kilometre.
These fees feature strongly in the claims made by Mrs Stewart, Mr Collings, Mr Ross and Mrs Burrill because they sit on environmental hearings committees.
Of all the local councillors, Mrs Stewart sits on the highest number of council committees, while Mr Collings carries a heavy load as transport portfolio leader.
Mr Collings is also a member of other transport organisations, such as the Auckland-Manukau Eastern Transport Initiative (Ameti) project steering group and Auckland’s regional land transport committee.
Mr Williams handles the associate transport portfolio.
Councillors can claim for mileage to formal council meetings, for which minutes are recorded.
This is paid automatically to those shown as being present.
The automatic payments are based on the distance between councillors’ homes and the meeting venue.
But many councillors choose not to, or rarely, enter the distance to community board meetings and have their mileage noted as zero.
This is the case for Mrs Stewart and Mr Williams.
Media coverage has honed in on a figure of $1.54 showing up for Mr Collings and Mr Quax.
Warwick McNaughton, the council’s democratic services manager, confirms both councillors had chosen not to be paid automatically for every board meeting and the $1.54 payment for a meeting in April 2008 was a one-off. It appears once for Mr Quax and Mr Collings on the list supplied to the Times.
The biggest claimers for “communications technology” are Mr Ross, Mr Williams and Mr Quax.
Mrs Burrill made no such claims during the period.
These claims are made for telephone landlines, toll calls, cellphones and broadband connections.
An annual $450 allowance for computers, notebooks, faxes and printers went unclaimed by Mrs Burrill, Mrs Stewart and Mr Williams during the same period.
The council also provides five reams of printer paper each year on request, and will reimburse up to two printing cartridges a year.
General expenses claimed are boosted by two councillors attending three conferences.
Mr Quax submitted a claim for $1197.67 for attending a graffiti conference in Canada.
He also claimed $538.20 to attend a conference run by Local Government New Zealand.
Mr Collings claimed $1235.84 for a transport conference in Australia.
Mr Quax is the only local member to claim ($421.30) for airport parking and taxis.
He also claimed $43 mileage for a council Christmas function at Butterfly Creek in Mangere.
All of the councillors, except Mrs Stewart and Mr Williams, claimed for mileage to Anzac Day services during the period.
After Mr Collings and Mr Quax, Mr Ross is the next biggest spender on general expenses at $4090.78 and tops the communications list at $4350.78.
Mrs Stewart and Mrs Burrill – despite their environmental hearings responsibilities – claimed the least in general expenses.
EXPENSES SUBMITTED FROM NOVEMBER 2007 TO MAY 2010
HERE’S a rundown on the gross payments including environmental meeting fees, general and mileage expenses, claimed by each of the six councillors elected to serve East Manukau – and their workload.
The figures don’t include the flat salaries paid to councillors, which reflect their position and workload.
They have been supplied to the Times by Manukau City Council following a request for the information made under the Official Information Act.
The figures relate to the period November 1, 2007 to May 31, 2010.
Sharon Stewart
• Positions: Portfolio leader, city form and entertainment. Sits on policy and activities, accountability and performance, environmental hearings and Te Tiriti o Waitangi committees, grant and event funding sub-committee, Hauraki Gulf Forum, Local Government New Zealand (zone one), Tamaki Estuary steering group.
• Total payment: $25,384.10.
David Collings
• Positions: Portfolio leader, transport. Sits on policy and activities, accountability and performance, environmental hearings, Te Tiriti o Waitangi committees, Auckland-Manukau Eastern Transport Initiative’s (Ameti) project steering group, Auckland Regional Land Transport Committee, Auckland Regional Transport Authority’s appointments panel, Tamaki Estuary Steering Group, Territorial Electoral College (museums).
• Total payment: $17,460.97.
Jami-Lee Ross
• Positions: Chairman, accountability and performance committee. Sits on policy and activities and environmental hearings committees, audit and risk sub-committee, Howick Business Improvement District, Territorial Electoral College (museums).
• Total payment: $16,442.03.
Maggie Burrill
• Positions: Chairwoman, audit and risk sub-committee, portfolio associate, city form and environment. Sits on policy and activities, accountability and performance, environmental hearings and Te Tiriti o Waitangi committees, Hauraki Gulf Forum, Territorial Electoral College (museums), Whitford landfill community and Whitford quarry community committees.
• Total payment: $13,618.59.
Dick Quax
• Positions: Portfolio leader, safe city. Sits on policy and activities, accountability and performance committees; Ameti project steering group, Auckland’s regional economic development strategy stakeholder group, Auckland region’s civil defence emergency management group.
• Total payment: $10,836.50.
Michael Williams
• Positions: Portfolio associate, transport and innovative council (corporate business). Sits on policy and activities and accountability and performance committees, audit and risk sub-committee, Ameti project steering group.
• Total payment: $7526.07.
