Ratepayers face a tax bill of tens of millions of dollars because of Govt plans to have much of the Super City run by commercial bodies, the Auckland City Council says.

Owners in two townhouse complexes have been backed in drawn-out leaky-building repair battles with their council, which lawyers say may affect rates.

Auckland council controlled bodies will be on a scale never before seen in Australasia.

Hackers who stole the credit card details of thousands of drivers from payment machines have forced a $4m system upgrade to be fast-tracked.