Hamilton City Council Spending from the Annual Report 2024

Hamilton is a growing city with growing needs and behind the scenes, a dedicated team of around 1,465 Council full time and part staff work every day to keep things moving. From the CEO and management, engineers and planners to librarians, maintenance crews, and community advisors, these are people who genuinely care about the city and its future[i].

The current wage bill and benefits cost for these staff is $122,704.000 ($122 million ayear)[ii].

That’s a major investment and an important one. The staff need to be equipped, respected, and well supported to do their jobs effectively, for the development and growth of the city with the best outcomes for the residents.

But there’s another piece to the puzzle to this current challenging and very visible cost.

Between 2021 and the end of 2023 financial years, the Council also engaged 993 externalconsultants at a total cost of $126,985,888[iii].

That then brings the combined total spent on staff and consultants to over $167,887,22 ($168 million) - almost two thirds of the rates collected in the 2024 financialyear of $256,412,000 ($256 million)[iv].

This isn’t about blaming anyone, it’s about strategy and outcomes.

Let’s be clear, consultants do have a place in the current business model. They bring in specialist skills, can support one-off projects, and sometimes offer objective advice when it's needed. They can also be the requirement for outside audit and delivery. But when you’re contracting nearly 1,000 consultants over three years, it raises some important questions that should be addressed.

Is the Council building the right internal capability and training so the staff can take on more of this work in the future and reduce consultant costs?

Are the council divisions and teams really receiving the tools and resources that the staff need to grow into these roles or are we defaulting to outsourcing when the pressure is on or is this the norm?

Is there a long-term plan to reduce consultant dependency and keep critical knowledge and expertise inside the organisation which looks after our city?

And, most importantly, are we being transparent and strategically open about how these decisions are made to engage consultants and how the money is being spent to ensure the best return on investments from outside consultant work.

Do the staff deserve to being stretched this thinly, or do we need more training and education? Or is outside help being brought in the normal system from years of this process, and it just hasn't been changed?

Many Council employees are passionate, skilled people who want to make a difference, but they need to be backed. When a large portion of the budget goes to external help, it can send the wrong signal. We should be building a culture where staff are trusted, trained, and supported to deliver, not sidelined in favour of short-term fixes at higher-than-average wage costs.

The concern here isn’t about the people, it’s about the systems and choices that shape how the organisation functions. When the amount spent on consultants is an additional 35% of what is paid to full-time staff, we need to ask whether this is sustainable? Have we seen a transition of Council staff from employees to consultants as seems a frequent occurrence in the larger business market?

We must ask, are we getting long-term value for our city?

Are we reducing future costs to the City?

Or are we just plugging holes in the hope to stay afloat?

It is now time for a smarter approach from the elected councillors to begin the process of total transparency for the future of Hamilton, and ensuring there is a way forward that is sustainable without the massive need to keep ramping up rates and costs to meet ever increasing expenditure. 

Hamilton deserves a Council that is bold, future-focused, and financially transparent.

For me that means,

The backing of the staff and growing internal capability wherever possible.

Ensuring the consultancy spend is managed, controlled, targeted, justified and reduced.

There must be the delivery to ratepayers of a clear, honest picture of how their money is being used to deliver the services the majority of ratepayers are asking for.

The planning is not just for the next 12 months, but for the next 12 years and even though there is a Long-Term Plan, the submissions from ratepayers and developers need to be recognised and acknowledged in these plans.

We all want the best for Hamilton, why wouldn't we, and the elected councillors need to be our voice and deliver the basics in the first instance and that means making sure the money we spend today builds the capacity, resilience, and talent we’ll need tomorrow to be the best city in the country.

Graeme Mead

Note: Graeme made an error adding the 3-year consultants figure to one year of salaries. This has been rectified.

‍

[i] Page 201 HCC Annual report 2024

[ii] Page 200 HCC annual report 2024

[iii] www.fyi.org.nz

[iv] Page 180 HCC Annual Report 2024

‍