Council admits logo error

Auckland’s top official has finally acknowledged councillors should have had the chance to approve the city council’s $187,500 image makeover.

Chief executive David Rankin made the admission at last month’s council meeting where the true cost of the rebranding was revealed as more than seven times what ratepayers were originally told.

Mr Rankin told the meeting he always accepted councillors needed to be consulted.

Some senior politicians, including former mayor Dick Hubbard, former deputy Bruce Hucker and former Citizens & Ratepayers leader Scott Milne, were briefed on plans.

"In hindsight that should have been through a formal process rather than an informal one," Mr Rankin said.

Unelected officials said the change cost $25,000, but requests for more details were stalled or rejected.

A report tabled at the November 22 meeting shows the cost also includes $67,000 for new printing templates, $42,000 for market research, $16,000 for legal fees and $37,500 sorting out a legal wrangle with Triangle TV.

A further $141,000 for signs, stationery and banners would have been spent anyway, the report says.

Those items, and 155,000 recycling bins already emblazoned with the design, would have to be dumped if the council revoked the change.

Councillors met in secret to discuss the report with Mr Rankin before the public council meeting.

They were asked to indicate how they would vote on a deal brokered by mayor John Banks with Triangle TV station, which claimed the new logo was too similar to theirs.

Councillor Cathy Casey says the initial discussion should have been held in public. "They were trying to get everyone to vent their emotions in private so when it went to the meeting no one had anything to say."

Mr Banks says the private briefing was held to make sure councillors were up to date and to save time during the public meeting.

"There was nothing in the meeting that we didn’t discuss publicly," he says.

Mr Banks says a straw poll was taken on the Triangle deal so news media could be told the matter had been settled.

The agreement will see the council use an altered ‘starburst’ logo for events and entertainment.

The cost of the legal battle with Triangle includes $10,000 for the updated design, $10,500 for Triangle’s legal fees and $17,000 for council lawyers.

Councillors voted to continue rolling out the new logos, but Mr Banks says he’ll ensure further costs are kept to a minimum.

- © Fairfax NZ News