Auckland mayor Wayne Brown said he had been working hard to keep rates down. (File photo) Photo: RNZ / Marika Khabazi
Auckland mayor Wayne Brown has hit back at claims he's planning a rates hike, after telling a ratepayer lobby group to "f*** off" over a pledge to keep rates low.
A screenshot seen by RNZ shows the mayor's curt email reply to the Auckland Ratepayers' Alliance, with the subject heading - "Is Wayne Brown planning a rates blow-out?".
The Ratepayer Protection Pledge asked candidates to commit to opposing any measures that will see the burden of rates exceed the level of inflation and population growth.
It also asked them to support initiatives to improve the transparency of council expenditure, and oppose unelected appointments onto council committees that hold spending and regulatory powers.
Wayne Brown said nothing could be further from the truth.
The mayor has labelled the pledge "gimmicky", and said his focus was keeping rates down and stopping wasteful spending.
An email screenshot shows Brown said "f*** off" in reply to an email from the the Auckland Ratepayers' Alliance. Photo: Supplied / Auckland Ratepayers' Alliance
"From the moment I took office, I have worked extremely hard to keep rates down. We have the best track record of any urban Council this term," Brown said.
"We've done that by tackling the real problem, wasteful spending and excessive costs. It's not glamorous, but it's the only way to deliver real results for households."
Brown said he had delivered, despite dealing with rampant inflation.
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