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Auckland's mayor says he will work hard to minimise the amount of money the council will need to come up with to cover a transport budget blowout.
The council needs to find about $1.5 billion to cover the cost of cyclone damage and the City Rail Link cost increase.
It comes on top of a forecast budget deficit of $295 million in the 2023/2024 financial year.
Wayne Brown told Morning Report that while the council will pay its fair share towards the rail project there will have to be discussions on what that is and how its paid for.
He says a rates increase is an end of road option but it is not his preferred option.
Brown says the rail link is a good project but the contract surrounding it was set up poorly and future projects will need to be managed differently.