AUCKLAND COUNCIL HIRES CONSULTANT TO CONSULT ON CONSULTANTS, INVOICE PENDING
Devonport ratepayers asked what the job actually is. Nobody at the Town Hall could say without a workshop.
Auckland Council has signed off on a consultant whose entire job is to review the council's use of other consultants, at a rate one Devonport ratepayer described as "more per hour than my sparkie, and he actually turns up".
The contract, quietly noted in a committee paper last week, will see an unnamed firm "scope and assess engagement frameworks" across council departments. In English, that means a bloke in a merino top is going to ring up other blokes in merino tops and ask them what they've been doing.
Devonport plumber Mike Tauroa, who reckons he's been waiting eighteen months on a stormwater answer, was less than thrilled. "I rang the council in March. Got bounced to a consultant. He bounced me to another consultant. Now there's a third bastard auditing the first two. I just want to know if I can dig the trench."
A council spokesperson said the engagement was "a prudent step toward optimising external advisory spend". Asked how much the consultant cost, the spokesperson said that was commercially sensitive. Asked how much the consultants being consulted on cost, same answer.
One council source, speaking on background because he'd like to keep his pension, said the new consultant would likely recommend a follow-up consultant to implement the findings. "That's just how it goes, mate. Consultants all the way down."
The Devonport ferry was late again on Tuesday. No consultant was available to comment.
The contract, quietly noted in a committee paper last week, will see an unnamed firm "scope and assess engagement frameworks" across council departments. In English, that means a bloke in a merino top is going to ring up other blokes in merino tops and ask them what they've been doing.
Devonport plumber Mike Tauroa, who reckons he's been waiting eighteen months on a stormwater answer, was less than thrilled. "I rang the council in March. Got bounced to a consultant. He bounced me to another consultant. Now there's a third bastard auditing the first two. I just want to know if I can dig the trench."
A council spokesperson said the engagement was "a prudent step toward optimising external advisory spend". Asked how much the consultant cost, the spokesperson said that was commercially sensitive. Asked how much the consultants being consulted on cost, same answer.
One council source, speaking on background because he'd like to keep his pension, said the new consultant would likely recommend a follow-up consultant to implement the findings. "That's just how it goes, mate. Consultants all the way down."
The Devonport ferry was late again on Tuesday. No consultant was available to comment.