2
Here’s the issue:
BY JUNE THIS
YEAR HAMILTON CITY COUNCIL
WILL
OWE ABOUT $400
MILLION ͵ OR $7500 FOR
EVERY RATEPAYER.
Five years ago debt was $143 million. Now
it’s twice the natonal average for councils.
That’s way too high, partcularly given the
global financial recession.
The Council has decided that getng debt
under control and returning the budget to
surplus within five years are its top priorites.
Banks generally let councils borrow
up to $2.50 for every dollar they
collect in rates, user charges
and other income streams.
Next year we will be close to this
borrowing threshold, meaning
there’s virtually nothing lef in case
of emergency.
So we’re going to
make sure we can
live within our means.
We’re limitng debt to about $440 million
for the next 10 years. By then we will
have Council borrowing down to
$1.80 for every dollar collected.
We’ll do this by:
• Cutng some services
• Increasing some user charges
• Selling some assets
At the same tme we will look afer
our existng assets and facilites.
Details of these proposals can
be found on the following pages.
LIVING
WITHIN OUR MEANS
0
100
200
300
400
500
$M
The Council proposes to keep debt at about
$440 million for the next 10 years. Selling
assets is a way we can lower debt.
COUNCIL DEBT
WE OWE:
ABOUT $400 million
WE SPEND:
ABOUT $200 million a year
WE WILL:
Get debt under control
n
The Council has
decided that
returning to surplus
and getting debt
under control are
its top priorities.
HAVE YOUR SAY
ͫ
WWW.HAMILTON.CO.NZ
TOTAL OVERALL
DEBT