Watercare directors would collect a base fee of $75,000 a year from 1 August, a rise of 33.5 per cent, under a recommendation going before city councillors on Thursday.
Council staff argue the increase “reflects both Watercare’s placement in a new higher remuneration band and market movement since the previous review”.
The Appointments and Performance Review Committee reviews the fees paid to directors of the Council’s substantive council-controlled organisations every three years, and last set them in 2023.
Staff recommend creating a new top band solely for Watercare which would see a lift in its directors’ base fee from $56,160 by $18,840 a year.
Under the Council’s remuneration policy board chairs receive twice the base fee, which would take Watercare chair Geoff Hunt’s fee from $112,320 to $150,000 a year.
The staff report says Watercare’s “responsibilities have increased following water reform and balance sheet separation”, giving it a scale and complexity score of 60 against 48 for Tataki Auckland Unlimited and 47 for the new Public Transport CCO.
Directors of Tataki Auckland Unlimited and the Public Transport CCO would move to $66,440, an 18.3 per cent rise matching movement in private-sector director fees.
Trustees of the Auckland Future Fund would have their fees trimmed by $160 to $42,590.
The changes would take the Auckland Council Group’s total board fees bill to $1,725,690 a year, an increase of $332,130 over leaving fees unchanged.
The move comes a month after Auckland Council set a rates increase of 7.9 per cent which drew criticism from ratepayer organisations.
The Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance told the Council in its annual plan submission that “after 15 years of rate increases well above inflation, it is time for ratepayers to stand up and say enough is enough”.
The Cockle Bay Residents & Ratepayers Association echoed this sentiment, telling the Council in its submission that the plan contained “excessive rates increases way beyond inflation”.
The fee decision lands on the same agenda as Watercare’s quarter three performance report, which shows the company met 32 of its 36 performance targets but missed on capital delivery, chlorine compliance, community trust and procurement from Maori-owned businesses.
“Capital delivery remains the main performance concern,” the report says.
Watercare spent $672.3 million on capital works in the nine months to March, $124.8 million or about 16 per cent below its year-to-date target, and has cut its full-year forecast from $1.05 billion to $937.2 million.
Community trust in Watercare measured 53.4 per cent against a target of 55 per cent.
The committee will also decide an appointment to the Watercare board in the confidential part of Thursday’s meeting.
Neither of the Howick ward’s two councillors sits on the committee, which is chaired by Cr Daniel Newman of Manurewa.
