Rates...

Oh the rates! 

1. The Mayor doesn't set the rates. 
2. The Mayor doesn't set the rates.
3. The Mayor doesn't set the rates.

Now we have that out of the way, let's watch all the other candidates lie about how they will set the rates... 

As Mayor I will fight to make the rates as low as possible. I'll get a bloody nose doing it too. Why? Because I'm a rate payer and I know how much it hurts.

We need rates, it's the basis for city finances. But we need realism as well.

To keep rates down, we need to get into the background of the council spends - find where money is going, and if it is going to the wrong places, then we shut it down or redirect it to be more fiscally smart.

This is not rocket science. This is what Auckland households go through all the time. I know this as I am one of them. I know how to pull in the purse strings, I've had the ups and downs and I've had kids! 

If we can sort the ridiculous ancillary spending that has put Auckland city into massive debt, then we can try control the rates.

But remember, the rates are not set by the Mayor!