Auckland is reeling from a half-a-billion-dollar hit from COVID-19, and the council has proposed major cuts to pretty much everything.
Jobs will be lost, public transport services limited and construction projects delayed - but the extent of the cuts depends on what rate increase the ratepayer is prepared to take.
Auckland has a choice - a 3.5 percent rate increase or a 2.5 percent one.
But here's the catch: thanks to COVID-19, the big smoke has to make some big moves.
"It is an emergency when you lose $535 million that three months ago was part of our budget," Auckland Mayor Phil Goff says.
So this is an emergency one, and few areas have escaped unscathed.
"It can't be business as usual - we have to find the savings," Mayor Goff said.
Those savings mean $200 million worth of assets will be sold, while $162 million of work in the water and wastewater area will be deferred.
It also means investment in transport will be down $205 million, which will cause delays to road safety improvements, cycleway projects and the roll-out of electric buses.
Meanwhile, most community building improvements will be frozen, and some facilities could close permanently - and that's just the tip of the iceberg.
"It might be that we don't cut the grass in the parks as often, it might mean we can't empty the bins that people put litter into quite so often, we can't do maintenance works on footpaths and roads at the pace that we were intending to do it," Mayor Goff explained.
"That's the sort of cost we're talking about."
The extent of the cuts depends on how much of a rate-hike Aucklanders can handle.
The difference between 2.5 and 3.5 percent for the average residential property is the equivalent of an extra $1.35 a week ($70 over the course of a year) compared with $1.82 each week (close to $95 a year).
"They're going to have that choice, but it does come with a cost, and the cost is a further cut to the services we provide, a further cut to the investment we need in transport, the environment and housing infrastructure," Mayor Goff said.
Aucklanders have a month to have their say before the council makes the choice for them.
