The shelves and filing cabinets have been cleaned up and a workplace for up to 18 people is empty, such as the office on the 27th floor of the Auckland Council tower waiting for a new mayor.
Auckland’s mayoralty is unique. The city’s top politician will not only be given a desk, but also an array of offices and a $5 million budget to spend on staffing or research as he sees fit.
The pumped up – by New Zealand standards – mayoralty is enshrined in the city’s amalgamation structure in 2010, which means that when the mayoralty changes, many other things happen as well.
The office suite must be vacated by 5:00 PM on October 7th.
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Outgoing Mayor Phil Goff must clear out mementos, gifts, books and personal items that filled it for his six years on the job.
At its peak, 18 employees kept the office alive.
That included administrative staff, advisers in finance, transportation and other areas, and the mayor’s own media and communications staff.
By the end of the term, that number had dwindled to about 12, as some chose to run ahead of the election.
Unlike government ministers, whose office workers have contracts that stand (or fall) with their minister’s fate, only one of Goff’s remaining staff is employed depending on being mayor.
Ricky Wilson / Stuff
The view from Auckland Mayor’s Office on Level 27 of City Hall.
It is up to the incoming mayor to decide whether to keep the remaining staff, with those involved treated as council employees – who can opt for new roles or resignation.
Both top candidates Efeso Collins and Wayne Brownsay they have people to move in with them.
Goff has withdrawn the Monday morning after the 2016 elections.
He brought with him a core team that worked on his election campaign and quickly added others, with his inner circle also including people he had worked with during his parliamentary career in Wellington.
Ricky Wilson / Stuff
The waiting area and view from Auckland Mayor’s Office on Level 27.
Downstairs in the basement, the electric mayor’s car is waiting for the incoming mayor to decide whether to take over.
Goff avoided the black V6 Holden Calais in 2016, which his predecessor Len Brown had long preferred, and initially took an EV from the council fleet.
However, the range was found to be insufficient for his long commute and official assignments.
Subsequently, a Hyundai Ioniq was purchased, which Goff’s replacement can choose for business and personal use, deducted from the role’s $296,000 salary.
Otherwise they can use their own car and get a mileage allowance or just use the car for official business.
Collins is a regular user of public transport and Wayne Brown lives just a short walk away on Karangahape Rd, so the mayoral car may be less used than in the past.
The city’s merger legislation provides for a budget for the mayoralty linked to the size of the municipality’s own budget. For the current year, that’s $5.3 million.
Dileep Fonseka/Stuff
Outgoing Mayor Phil Goff next to one of the Auckland Council’s electric cars in the Mayor’s car park. (File photo)
The budget is intended to allow the mayor to conduct independent research in addition to staffing the office — but especially under the frugal Phil Goff, the political game was to spend as little of it as possible.
Over the past three years, Goff’s office expenses were found to be $2 million on either side.
Len Brown used the budget to commission the first study on the future of the municipal port company.
Goff has commissioned reports on arrival using city budgets, such as the inconclusive take on $1 million the viability of a stadium in the inner city.
The October 8 election results will decide who will move into the mayor’s suite the following Monday.