Auckland mayor Wayne Brown revived his vision for the city's proposed future fund, to be capitalised through the sale of the council's remaining stake in the Auckland International Airport, valued at about $1.3 billion.
The plan - unveiled as part of the Auckland long-term plan 2024-34 - would go ahead without the port lease, which could create a potential "windfall gain" of about $20 million next year.
Brown said based on independent advice, the fund’s cash contribution to Auckland Council is expected to be $400m more than its dividends from Auckland airport shares over the next 10 years. This will be a 2.2% annual savings for each ratepayer, he said.
The revised mayoral proposal outlines a rates increase for the average Auckland residential property of 6.8% in FY25, 5.8% in FY26, and 7.9% in FY27. Beyond that, he said, the average rates increase would be "no more" than 3.5% until 2034.