Local authority spending increases

Local authorities' seasonally adjusted operating expenditure increased 4.3 percent in the March 2015 quarter, Statistics New Zealand said today. Purchases of goods and services was the main driver of the $95.0 million increase in total operating expenditure.

Interest payments (up $13.1 million or 7.8 percent), and depreciation and amortisation (up $2.2 million or 0.5 percent) also increased. Partly offsetting these increases were falls in employee costs (down $3.0 million or 0.6 percent).

The total seasonally adjusted operating income from core services fell 0.5 percent, to $2.1 billion in the March 2015 quarter, following an increase of 3.0 percent in the December 2014 quarter. The total investment income (dividends and interest) and rates fell by 16.7 percent and 0.9 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, sales and other operating income (up $17.0 million or 4.7 percent), and current grants (up $1.9 million or 0.7 percent) increased.

Overall, local authorities had an operating deficit of $196.1 million in the March 2015 quarter, compared with an $89.7 million deficit in the December 2014 quarter.

Find more information on local authorities' financial statistics (including information on individual councils) in Local Authority Financial Statistics: Year ended June 2013. This was released on 23 July 2014 alongside Government Finance Statistics (Local Government): Year ended June 2013.

ENDS

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