Business Group Welcomes Council Benchmarks

13 November 2013

Business Group Welcomes Council Benchmarks

Ratepayers will welcome the announcement today of financial prudence regulations for local government, said Michael Barnett, Chair of the Local Government Forum.

“These regulations will be very important for improving local government financial performance,” said Mr. Barnett.

“Greater transparency through standardised reporting and financial benchmarking can only be a good thing as it will help councils - and their ratepayers - better understand how they are doing compared to their peers.

“Financial benchmarking will also give the Government better and more timely information so it can assist and, if necessary, intervene before things get out of hand.

“While people will have different ideas on what benchmarks should be used, the ones chosen are a good start and can be built on.

“If there is a lesson to be learnt from the recent local authority elections it is that perhaps councils can and should do more to demonstrate value and effectiveness.

“We think these benchmarks will help, especially if councils build on them to develop other financial and non-financial performance indicators,” said Mr. Barnett.

ENDS

ABOUT THE FORUM
The Local Government Forum comprises organisations that have a vital interest in the activities of local government. Its members include BusinessNZ, the Electricity Networks Association, Federated Farmers of NZ, NZ Initiative, NZ Chambers of Commerce, and NZ Retailers’ Association. The Forum was established in 1994 to promote greater efficiency in local government and to contribute to the debate on policy issues affecting it.

For more information on the Forum, see www.localgovtforum.org.nz

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