Waikato District Council welcomes today’s release of the new Council Profiles by the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA).
Chief Executive Craig Hobbs says while useful for a snapshot of information and comparison with other similar councils, the profiles do not tell the full story.
“These profiles make it easier for people to compare councils on key areas like rates, debt, spending, and staffing. But they do not explain important details like local growth or aging infrastructure pressures, or the unique needs of our district and communities,” he said.
“The geographic scale of our district cannot go unmentioned; at 400,000 hectares we are one of the largest geographic councils. With this comes the challenge of maintaining a large number of community facilities like halls, pools, playgrounds and libraries. The maintenance of 1100km of pipes needed to supply, drain or remove water, 9 waste water treatment plants and 7 water treatment plants and more than 2500 km of sealed and unsealed roads.
“Waikato district is one of the fastest-growing districts in New Zealand, now home to an estimated 92,500 people. We continue to invest in the infrastructure needed to support this growth, deliver core services like rubbish, recycling, building and maintaining roads, parks and facilities while managing rates increases and debt carefully and responsibly.
“Our AA+ credit rating allows us to borrow at lower interest rates, helping us manage rising costs and growing demand. This means more of your rates can go directly into essential services and community projects, rather than being spent on interest payments,” Mr Hobbs explains.
“With rising costs, growing communities, and the ongoing challenge of staying affordable, it’s more important than ever that we keep striving to do better,” he said.
“We’re looking for smarter, more efficient ways to deliver core services and the infrastructure our communities need both today and for generations to come. Our commitment is to continuous improvement, ensuring we make every dollar count for the people we serve.” he says.
You can read the full profile report and find more information here.
