Information relating to contractors and consultants; Mayor’s office; depreciation and renewals (Our ref. 895).
We have decided to release the information you have requested; - please see our answers below, in blue, from the finance team.
Initial Request and Response - 19/02/2026
The Taxpayers’ Union is in the process of preparing the 2026 Ratepayers’ Report for the 2024/25 financial year. This is request number 3 of 3.
This is a request for information under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987. Please use GST inclusive figures where applicable.
I request the following information for the 2024/25 Financial Year:
1. Contractors and consultants
- Total expenditure on contractors by the council and the FTE equivalent as at 30 June 2025. Please provide the same information for CCOs, if applicable.
Council $7,765,502, CCO $0 – no active CCOs, FTE – not available as not recorded- The Taxpayers’ Union defines contractors as per the Contractors and Consultants Guidance document published by the Public Service Commission.
- Total expenditure on consultants by the council and the FTE equivalent as at 30 June 2025. Please provide the same information for CCOs, if applicable.
Council $2,751,528, CCO $0 – no active CCOs, FTE – not available as not recorded- The Taxpayers’ Union defines consultants as per the Contractors and Consultants Guidance document published by the Public Service Commission.
2. Mayor’s office
- If applicable, please provide the total budget allocated to the mayor’s office for both the financial year ended 30 June 2025 and the current financial year.
2025 $548,177, 2026 $613,259 - If applicable, please provide the FTE number of staff employed to work in the mayor’s office and their job titles.
No direct staff but mayor has available 0.5 FTE of executive support
3. Depreciation and renewals
- The total amount of depreciation funded for all council-owned assets in the year ended 30 June 2025, broken down by source (e.g., rates, grants, levies).
$3,979,402, rates $3,703,153, grants $0, levies $276,249 - The total cash amount spent on replacing, restoring, or upgrading existing assets to maintain levels of service in the year ended 30 June 2025. $5,244,747
- What was the actual year-end balance of cash reserves held for depreciation, and did the balance increase or decrease over this period? ($1,402,612) balance decreased
- The total amount of depreciation funds allocated for purposes other than renewals capital expenditure in the year ended 30 June 2025. Specifically, detail the amounts used for:
- New Capital/Growth Projects (i.e., new assets, not renewals). $477,319
- Debt Repayment (i.e., principal or interest payments). $218,188
- Operating Expenses. $0
Follow-up Request 1 - 24/02/2026
Can you please clarify if the mayor’s office budget includes the mayor’s remuneration? We were looking to exclude that.
Response to Follow-up Request 1 - 25/02/2026
Please see reply to your query from our finance manager below:
Yes it does include the Mayoral remuneration as well as elected council members.
Budgeted Councillor remuneration:
- 2024-25 $307,543 – mayor only $92,263
- 2025-26 $318,921 – mayor only $95,676
Budget then becomes:
- 2025 $548,177 less $92,263 = $455,914
- 2026 $613,259 less $95,676 = $517,583
Please note that the budgeted amounts are slightly different to actual remuneration authority rulings (budget was adopted prior to remuneration authority decision)
Follow-up Request 2 - 25/02/2026
Thanks. We would want to exclude all elected member remuneration from that figure - can you confirm how much that would be?
Response to Follow-up Request 2 - 25/02/2026
In answer to the latest question the following numbers are what it will be excluding all elected member remuneration.
Budget now becomes:
- 2025 $548,177 less $307,543 = $240,634
- 2026 $613,259 less $318,921 = $294,338
Please note that the budgeted amounts are slightly different to actual remuneration authority rulings (budget was adopted prior to remuneration authority decision).