Auckland (Avneet Kaur)
Wellington City Council is facing criticism after it was revealed that a website created to promote the capital’s newly reopened central library cost ratepayers nearly $600,000 to design and build.
Documents show the project cost $595,801, with a further $72,000 allocated for annual hosting and maintenance.
The spending has drawn a sharp response from Wellington Deputy Mayor Ben McNulty, who said he was stunned by the amount spent on what he described as a relatively straightforward website.
McNulty said he learned about the project’s cost shortly after a council grants committee meeting where several community groups missed out on funding because of overwhelming demand and limited resources.
He argued that spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on a website was difficult to justify at a time when community organisations were struggling to secure financial support.
The deputy mayor publicly criticised the project, saying the price tag represented poor value for money and raised questions about spending priorities within the council.
The website contract was awarded to Auckland-based digital agency Journey Digital following a procurement process approved by council management.
In response to the criticism, Wellington City Council acknowledged the cost was substantial and said a project of that scale would be unlikely to receive approval under today’s tighter financial environment.
Council officials said the expenditure covered the full design and development process, including user testing, website construction and launch costs.
They also defended the decision to create a standalone website, arguing it plays an important role in promoting the new library and encouraging public use of the facility.
According to the council, the library has already attracted around 350,000 visitors since reopening approximately 10 weeks ago.
Officials estimate the facility could welcome as many as 1.8 million visitors during its first year of operation, averaging close to 5,000 people a day.
The controversy comes as councils across New Zealand face growing pressure to control spending and demonstrate better value for ratepayers amid rising costs and ongoing budget constraints.
