Auckland’s mayor is signalling more rates rises will be needed as the city faces “big financial challenges” to maintain infrastructure and pay for public transport.
【澳纽网】援引RNZ报道， 奥克兰市长表示，由于该市在维护基础设施和支付公共交通费用方面面临“巨大的财务挑战”，因此需要进一步增加地税。

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Earlier this year, Auckland Council put rates up by 7.7 percent as part of a plan to plug its $375 million budget hole, including about $50m for storm costs.
今年早些时候，奥克兰市议会将地税提高了7.7%，作为填补其3.75亿纽币预算漏洞的计划的一部分，其中包括约5000万纽币的风暴费用。

The council said rates could increase by 13.75 percent next year, as it looks to once again balance the books.
该委员会表示，明年地税可能会上涨13.75%，因为它希望再次平衡账目。

Today, mayor Wayne Brown said decisions made in the past had caused the current budgetary woes.
今天，市长韦恩·布朗（Wayne Brown）表示，过去做出的决定导致了目前的预算困境。

“Nobody here is lacking vision, but we are lacking resources and we need to put Auckland on stable footing,” Brown said.
“这里没有人缺乏远见，但我们缺乏资源，我们需要让奥克兰站稳脚跟，”布朗说。

“We must get better value from our strategic assets and make provision for our biggest risks.”
“我们必须从我们的战略资产中获得更好的价值，并为我们最大的风险做好准备。

This week, the mayor will release his proposal for the city’s 10-year budget for councillors to discuss, before the long-term plan goes out for public consultation.
本周，市长将发布他的关于该市10年预算的提案，供议员讨论，然后对长期计划进行公众咨询。

“We need to slow down the growth of our capital programme and play catch-up with the associated costs. Now is not the time for new mega projects,” Brown said.
“我们需要放慢资本计划的增长速度，并赶上相关成本。现在不是新的大型项目的时候，“布朗说。

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“I want to be confident that we have value out of our current assets and what we are already building, before we acquire more.”
“我想确信，在我们收购更多资产之前，我们从现有资产和我们已经建设的东西中获得了价值。”

Rates needed to increase and more costs should be cut – including back office jobs, he said.
他说，需要提高地税，削减更多成本 – 包括后台工作。

“Auckland Council has to stop wasting money, and start getting things done faster, better, and cheaper.”
“奥克兰市议会必须停止浪费金钱，并开始更快、更好、更便宜地完成工作。”

Brown said this could include having Auckland Council and council-controlled organisations share services, such as IT, property management, and HR.
布朗说，这可能包括让奥克兰市议会和市议会控制的组织共享服务，如IT、物业管理和人力资源。

Congestion charges were needed, but some cycleway projects should be scrapped, he said.
他说，拥堵费是必要的，但一些自行车道项目应该被取消。

“My plan is to speed up the traffic and cut congestion, which means we need to make better use of what we have.
“我的计划是加快交通速度并减少拥堵，这意味着我们需要更好地利用我们所拥有的。

“I will propose that we continue with time-of-use charging.
“我建议我们继续使用分时充电。

“I also want us to maintain progress on speeding up buses through the city with dynamic lanes and affordable rapid transit projects.”
“我还希望我们通过动态车道和负担得起的快速交通项目，在加快公交车穿越城市的速度方面保持进展。”

Brown’s proposal includes stopping funding for new raised speed-tables and reducing the cost of temporary traffic management.
布朗的提议包括停止为新的提高速度表提供资金，并降低临时交通管理的成本。

The running costs of the City Rail Link are expected to account for about 10 percent of rates paid by Aucklanders.
城市铁路线的运营成本预计将占奥克兰人支付的费率的10%左右。

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Brown wanted the region’s transport and water networks better maintained.
布朗希望该地区的交通和供水网络得到更好的维护。

“The ongoing costs of owning, operating and maintaining assets have been piling-up on our books. Now, they’re overdue,” he said.
“拥有、运营和维护资产的持续成本一直在我们的账面上堆积如山。现在，它们已经过期了，“他说。

“We need to fix our pipes and roads. Auckland’s infrastructure is spread thin and falling into disrepair.”
“我们需要修复我们的管道和道路。奥克兰的基础设施薄弱，年久失修。

The city was struggling to keep up with population growth and demands from central government had put pressure on the council, he said.
他说，该市正在努力跟上人口增长的步伐，中央政府的要求给议会带来了压力。

“Too often, Auckland Council has deferred maintenance works to accommodate new infrastructure works, made worse by unfunded mandates handed down by central government, such as those enabling greenfield developments to intensify at the city’s outskirts.”
“奥克兰市议会经常推迟维护工作，以适应新的基础设施工程，而中央政府下达的无资金授权使情况变得更糟，例如那些使城市郊区的绿地开发得到加强的授权。”

The plan will be finalised and adopted next year.
该计划将于明年最终确定并通过。

来源：RNZ

分类： 澳纽资讯

(即时多来源) 新西兰英语新闻 New Zealand English News

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