Council operating costs still amongst lowest

The 2017 Ratepayers’ Report shows Kāpiti Coast District Council continues to perform strongly in terms of operating costs per ratepayer, ranking second-lowest in the country.

Mayor K Gurunathan says he is pleased to see the Taxpayers’ Union report show the Council performing so well in terms of efficiency when it comes to the day to day costs of providing services across the district.

“The Council works hard to keep costs down and today’s report shows that we’re a fairly lean organisation when our operating costs are compared with those of other councils.”

“It puts us in a similar place to last time the report was compiled, and it’s heartening to see that consistent performance.”

Mayor Gurunathan says the results emphasise the challenge that Kāpiti faces in keeping rates at an affordable level.

“Our heavy reliance on rates as our main source of income, coupled with high debt levels, means that despite operating efficiently we still have higher than average rates.

“We’re at the beginning of a journey towards addressing our debt levels.  We’re making some hard calls now to spend less in order to pay back more debt.  This will mean we meet the needs of our communities not just for the next three years, but for the next 20 to 30.”