Ratepayers should brace for a hit to their pockets

Wellington City is 4.2% of the population but holds 7.6% of Local Government Funding Agency borrowing. (Image: Getty)

Tue, 14 Mar 2023

I normally gloss over local authority statistics.But the latest lot got my attention. When interest rates rise you follow the trail of debt. Councils have a lot of debt, though not when viewed against total assets.Operating positions are deteriorating though, interest costs are rising rapidly, and questions should be asked of the quality of the assets.The latest local authority statistics showed a quarterly seasonally adjusted operating deficit of $473 million or roughly $1.5 billion over the year. That represents 10.6% of operat...

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