(Note below are policies first for those candidates who have listed information with us - the rest can be found at policy.nz - thank you to Policy NZ who have granted permission for us to reproduce the information below)

Rates and revenue

The work of local government is funded mainly by property taxes in the local area, known as rates. This makes up around 60% of council expenditure, with the rest coming from user charges, investment income, regulatory fees and roading subsidies. Councils can also borrow money to spread the cost of large investments such as infrastructure over a longer period of time.

• Commit to operational expenditure and debt repayments being fully serviced from rates and fees income.
• Ensure that long term infrastructure investment costs are spread over a lifetime of use by way of debt management.
• Communicate clearly how council spending is being utilised and directly answering or finding out the answers to voter questions on spend.

• Reinvest expenditure back into communities, ie targeted rates back into targeted communities.
• Find ways to meet financial obligations that veer away from selling council assets.
• Invest money into projects now to prevent rising future costs.

• Increase emphasis on efficiency and effectiveness across council operations especially as it goes to project delivery and value for money.
• Cease use of Auckland-wide targeted rates and review impact and effectiveness of regional fuel tax.
• Recognise financial hardship and effects of rate increases, retain council investments returning net revenue – contributing to lower rates.

For all candidate responses on rates and revenue visit policy.nz