Greater Wellington adopts annual report
Greater Wellington Regional Council announced an operating surplus of $7.2 million for the 2003/04 financial year, $4.4
million more than budgeted, when adopting its annual report today. Greater Wellington chief financial officer Barry
Turfrey said the surplus came from savings against budget, delays in some projects and additional income from
investments. It included:
Savings of $0.7M in water supply due to spending less on chemicals, insurance and rates Savings of $1.4M in regional
transport due to delays in a number of planned projects including rolling stock refurbishment and some “kick-start”
services A surplus of $2.3 million from other areas, mainly income from investments, including Council subsidiary
companies.
Greater Wellington had a successful year delivering on its commitments in the annual plan and staying, overall, well
under budget. Expenditure for the year was $117M out of a planned $122M.
Major capital projects for the 2003/04 year included:
Flood protection works for the Hutt River such as Belmont edge protection works and starting the Strand Park realignment
Replacing a pipeline to the Wainuiomata water treatment plant and relocating the Pukerua Bay branch pipeline Queen
Elizabeth Park enhancements Rebuilding the Petone railway station
Mr Tufrey says Greater Wellington’s operating surplus above budget will be either carried forward to enable the planned
projects to be carried out or used to repay debt. “In either case ratepayers will benefit,” he says. Greater Wellington
has also reduced its net debt by $6.6 million, from $66.3 million at 30 June 2003, to $59.7 million at 30 June 2004.
This year Greater Wellington will send a newspaper summary of its achievements and financial results to all households
in the region in early November. A full copy of the annual report will be available from Greater Wellington offices.