Official Information Request - Budget Information

Sent: Friday, 25 March 2022 1:40 pm
Subject: Official Information request - budget information

I refer to your Official Information request of 23 March 2022 in relation to budget information as follows.

1. Provide the Total Comprehensive Revenue & Expenses as reported in your 2021 published financial statements and reconcile this figure to your balanced budget obligation under s100 of the Local Government Act, identifying each of the following adjustment items (if applicable) in your reconciliation:

• a) Capital subsidies (eg NZTA/Waka Kotahi)
• b) Asset revaluations
• c) Asset write-offs
• d) Depreciation
• e) Development contributions
• f) Changes in the mark-to-market value of financial instruments
• g) Gains or losses on the disposal or sale of assets
• h) Assets vested or gifted to the Council
• i) Operating subsidies (eg from NZTA/Waka Kotahi)
• j) Other (please specify)

2. If your Council’s methodology for calculating the balanced budget requirement (having given regard to both subsections (1) and (2) of section 100 of the Local Government Act) excludes revenue from any of the following:

• Capital subsidies
• Vested assets
• Asset revaluations
  then please state whether the depreciation expense on the asset values generated by these revenue items is similarly excluded. If it is not similarly excluded, please explain how this anomaly is justified to ratepayers in setting the level of rates to be charged.

3. State the Council’s current financial strategy target for the balanced budget requirement.

4. For each of the years in the Council’s current Long Term Plan state the budgeted performance against the s100 LGA balanced budget requirement.

5. For each of the last five years’ annual reports state your Council’s actual balanced budget result and the Total Comprehensive Revenue & Expenses.

6. For any of the last five years’ actual results where the s100 LGA balanced budget requirement as calculated by Council has not been achieved, provide Council’s explanation for that non-achievement.

7. In the ten forecast years in the current Long-Term Plan, where the s100 LGA balanced budget requirement as calculated by Council is budgeted to not be achieved, provide Council’s explanation for that budgeted non-achievement in terms of s100(2) of the LGA.

Council is not obliged to create information to answer an official information request.

However, I refer you to Council’s website HERE for Annual Reports, Annual Plans and Long-term Plans where the information requested is readily available to the public.

You have the right to seek an investigation and review by the Ombudsman of this decision. The Ombudsman’s Office can be contacted by calling 0800 802 602, emailing info@ombudsman.parliament.nz, online at www.ombudsman.parliament.nz, or by post to The Ombudsman, PO Box 10152, Wellington 6143.

Publication of responses to LGOIMA requests

Please note: Our LGOIMA responses may be published on the Rotorua Lakes Council website after they have been responded to, with requesters’ personal details withheld. If you have any concerns about this please contact the Council on info@rotorualc.nz .

Regards