Wairarapa council spending falls

Masterton town hall and town square.

Wairarapa local authorities' latest efforts to balance their books have been revealed.

Statistics New Zealand's annual Local Authority Census for the year ending June 2013 shows nationwide local authority spending on core services has declined for the first time in the census' 20-year history.

Masterton District Council's spending on core services, or operating expenditure, rose from $33 million to $35.6 million from 2012 to 2013, and its total operating income rose from $31.6 million to $33.4 million.

Carterton District Council's spending on core services fell from $12.7 million to $12 million, while its operating income was stable at about $11.8 million.

South Wairarapa District Council's spending on core services rose from $15 million to $16.3 million, and operating income rose from $14.6 million to almost $14.9 million.

Across the three councils, almost $42.8 million of operating income was funded by rates in the year to June 2013.

Nationwide, local authorities' spending on core services fell from $8.5 billion to $8.3 billion, while operating income increased 1 per cent to $7.9 billion.

Statistics NZ local authorities statistics manager Michele Lloyd said income from rates increased $90 million in 2013, the lowest increase since the global financial crisis in 2009.

In the year ended June 2013, local authorities' operating deficit was $392 million, an improvement from the June 2012 year deficit.

Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ) president Lawrence Yule said the spending figures were skewed by Auckland and Christchurch data.

LGNZ used the term "core services" to refer to roading and core infrastructure projects, while Statistics NZ used it to cover "pretty much everything that council does", he said.

"The key drivers (for the spending decrease) are actually in some of the major infrastructure project delays in both Auckland and Christchurch.

"If you took them out and said 'well they're going to spend at the rate they were going to spend', then actually spending would go up."