Councils should be reassured they will receive government funding for roading

Councils in the lower North Island can be reassured they will receive a proportion of government funding to help repair flood-damaged roads, says the government's land transport funding agency, Transfund New Zealand.

Under usual Transfund policy, 50 percent on average of all costs associated with local roads, ie, those which are not State highways, are funded by Transfund.

For those roads damaged by a sudden and unexpected event such as last month's floods, Transfund assists councils at a higher rate.

This rate is set through a complex equation which takes into account income from rates in the district, financial assistance for road maintenance for that district and the extent of emergency works required.

In short, the more damage to the roads, the more Transfund funding councils will receive.

On the basis of the current formula, it is expected that some councils will receive over 90 percent of the cost of repairing the roads from Transfund.

Exactly how much assistance each council will get as a result of last month's floods is yet to be finalised, however, there could be up to $50 million worth of damage to local roads.

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