Date:              September 10th 2013

Finance chairman hails prudent financial result

Chairman of Hastings District Council’s Finance and Monitoring Committee Tania Kerr has commended the prudent financial management which has created a $2.3m budget surplus for the 2012/13 financial year.

Council has released details of its financial performance ahead of today’s Finance and Monitoring Committee meeting. Council expenditure has come in just under $2.3m below the rating budget for the year, and staff are recommending that the vast majority of this money is used to repay or offset debt.

Councillor Kerr says “This result is testament to Council’s prudent financial strategy and to the skill and experience of our management team. If Council continues with the current strategy, we will see a significant increase in debt repayment.”

Tania Kerr says “Council has a core focus on keeping rates affordable and holding a tight rein on debt. We expect our Chief Executive and management team to make as many savings as possible throughout the year, so that surpluses can be used to repay debt.”

In recent years Council has consistently used surpluses to repay debt and reduce interest costs. Resulting interest savings of $900,000 were factored into the 2013/14 Annual Plan which helped secure a low rates increase.

Council’s financial strategy involves setting a balanced budget with stretch targets. Staff use leading edge asset and programme management techniques alongside efficiency reviews to defer or eliminate expenditure and create savings. These approaches, together with good management decision making, have generated the budget surplus.

“The creation of the budget surplus is a real credit to staff, particularly in the treasury management area. Council includes some debt funding in its financial strategy to ensure today’s ratepayers don’t pay too much for assets that will last generations. However, the real focus is on making sure debt is well controlled over the long term,” Councillor Kerr says. 

“Council has rejected one off, short term cost reduction measures that would lead to longer term financial pressures and higher debt levels. We want a prudent and sustainable financial strategy that delivers for ratepayers today and into the future,” Tania Kerr says.

ENDS

© Scoop Media