Residents owe councils $820k

South Wairarapa ratepayers owe almost $1 million to councils in the Wellington region.

The amount owed to the South Wairarapa District Council is "naggingly high" said acting chief executive Paul Crimp.

At the end of February, owners of 565 properties owed a total of $820,000 to the council and Greater Wellington Regional Council. That is an average of $1451 per property.

Of total ratepayers' debt, $664,000 is owed for services the South Wairarapa District Council provides.

The amount owed had been typical since 2011, said Mr Crimp.

"It's been stuck at that level for quite a while."

He said the council planned to be more proactive in collecting rates.

"We just need to push it a bit harder. To follow up with 565 people takes a bit of effort."

A reasonable number of people were on repayment schemes but some were struggling, said Mr Crimp.

Those people could be referred to budget advisory services to work out how to pay the money, he said.

He said people often forgot to pay by the instalment date but some chose not to pay at all.

The council has the ability to enforce payments from those who had mortgagors, said Mr Crimp.

Even though over half a million dollars was missing from their budget, he said, councillors took that into account when planning services.

"It does have an impact but it doesn't stop us delivering our services."

However, he said the council did have to pay interest on money it borrowed for services that would normally be covered by rates.