Claims about Rotorua council finances debunked

A number of claims about the state of Rotorua Lakes Council’s finances were firmly put to rest today [Thursday 29 October] at a special meeting to adopt the council’s 2014/15 annual report.

Responding to councillors’ questions Audit New Zealand director Clarence Susan indicated he was satisfied that council finances were in order, debt levels were fully disclosed and sustainable, and the council was operating within legislative requirements.

The annual report for the year ending 30 June 2015 was adopted unanimously at the meeting. Audit New Zealand had earlier given the council a clear audit opinion for the annual report.

In an introduction to the annual report mayor Steve Chadwick said the over-arching theme of the year’s work had been one of council and community working together in genuine partnerships.

“I’m not only proud of the way our community has come on board and shared our vision for the future, but I’m also proud of our organisation’s vastly improved performance and the transparency of our finances.

“Our shared Rotorua 2030 vision is being transformed into a strong platform for growth. Rotorua is showing very promising indicators of economic growth and there are encouraging levels of optimism about our future prospects.

“The Maori economy is proving to be an increasingly significant component of our growth and is poised to play a more substantial part in our success in the years ahead. So I’m proud of the conversation we had during the year with our wider community to find a better model to support a more honest and meaningful partnership with iwi.

“Of course there remain many challenges ahead of us, including ensuring the council continues to be financially stable, future-proofing wastewater disposal arrangements, developing a sustainable waste strategy and upgrading community infrastructure.”

Council chief executive Geoff Williams said the annual report showed Rotorua Lakes Council was in good shape.

“The council is back on track to become the highly performing and effective organisation it needs to be to play a lead role in crafting a positive future for our community.

“We’re in a much better position than when we presented our last annual report as we’re now back on budget.

“We’ve spent what we signalled we would spend. We haven’t borrowed more than we projected. And we ended the year $5.9 million better off. We had planned to borrow $4.2 million but instead had $1.7 million in surplus funds. Of this we used $1.2 million to repay debt and retained $500,000 extra cash on hand.”

Mr Williams said 2014/15 had also been the first year of a new organisational structure following realignment of the operational arm of the council to match the goals and priorities of the Rotorua 2030 vision.

“We’re now more nimble, more responsive, more flexible, and more solutions-driven. And we’re very focussed on meeting the challenges the mayor and councillors have set us, in partnership with the community. I’m confident Rotorua Lakes Council is well positioned to meet the needs and aspirations of the future,” he said.

The adopted 2014/15 annual report is expected to be available on the council website from next week.

ENDS

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