The information in this Hot Off the Press is compiled from data collected in the quarterly Local Authority Survey. The series starts in the September 1992 quarter.
The quarterly Local Authority Survey includes New Zealand's 12 regional councils and 74 territorial authorities and provides full coverage of New Zealand's regional and local council responsibilities and functions. The survey measures non-trading activities of local authorities, such as local government administration, provision of water supply, roading, parks and reserves, and planning and regulation. Data relating to Council Organisations (formerly called Local Authority Trading Enterprises) is not included in this release.
Accounting treatments vary among the local authorities and it can be difficult to produce a set of comparable statistics. First published results are therefore provisional and subject to revision as more data become available.
Quarterly results are reconciled to annual values provided by the annual Local Authority Census and validated against annual reports. Results are provisional for recent quarters and the most recent annual result until these reconciliation and validation processes are complete.
All local authorities are included in the Local Authority Census. Local authorities comprise city councils, district councils, unitary authorities, and regional councils. Unitary authorities are city and district councils that also perform the functions of a regional council.
The quarterly operating result included in this release excludes non-operating items such as extraordinary gains or losses, and asset revaluations. These items are usually identified when annual results are released.
Revisions
Each quarter, revisions may be made to previously published series. Changes resulting from the inclusion of new and revised annual information are generally limited to once a year, and are usually released with March quarter statistics.
Seasonally adjusted estimates
Commentary provided in the media release and the Hot Off the Press is based on seasonally adjusted series with the exception of rates, dividend income, and depreciation, which are not seasonally adjusted. Seasonally adjusted series and actual (or unadjusted) series can be found in the 'Tables' section.
Seasonal adjustment is carried out by utilising the X-12-ARIMA seasonal adjustment package. This package has been used to produce the seasonally adjusted estimates in table 3 and table 4. The aim of seasonal adjustment is to eliminate the impact of regular seasonal events on the time series and make data for adjacent periods more comparable. All seasonally adjusted figures are subject to revision each quarter.
Further information about seasonal adjustment is available on the Statistics New Zealand website: www.stats.govt.nz
Tables
The tables attached to this release show long-term series of seasonally adjusted and actual data for local authority financial statistics.
Definitions
Depreciation
Depreciation on fixed assets includes infrastructural assets, restricted assets, buildings, mobile equipment, other plant, machinery, and office equipment. The value of depreciation increases over time as a result of increases in fixed asset values and legislative requirements for councils to fully fund depreciation (Local Government Amendment Act (No 3) 1996). This series is not seasonally adjusted.
Employee costs
These are gross earnings of all paid employees in the authority. It includes overtime, sick and holiday pay, benefit allowances, value of free supplies, severance and redundancy payments, levies paid to the Accident Compensation Corporation and employer contributions to superannuation schemes.
Government grants and subsidies
Includes grants, subsidies, and levies from central government, and other local authorities and organisations. Grants treated as equity contributions are excluded.
Interest paid
Interest paid on public debt and other liabilities.
Investment income
This category predominantly consists of income from interest and dividends. From the beginning of the series until March 1996, both interest revenue and dividends were seasonally adjusted. After March 1996, dividends became volatile due to large and irregular payments of dividends to local authorities from Council Controlled Trading Organisations, and seasonal patterns were no longer apparent. Interest revenue continues to be seasonally adjusted and combined with actual dividends in the investment income category.
Purchases and all other expenditure
Includes rent, insurance, fuel, postage, repairs, and maintenance. Contracts for services from separate council trading enterprises are also included. Purchases of goods and services charged within the authority (overheads) are excluded. Also excluded are loan repayments, purchases of fixed assets, and contract payments for the construction and development of fixed or community assets. Other expenses include grants and donations to other organisations, bad debts, and income tax.
Rates
All forms of rates are included in this category. Water rates are included, but rates collected on behalf of other local authorities (such as regional councils) are excluded. Water sold by meter is excluded. This series is not seasonally adjusted.
Regulatory income and petrol tax
Regulatory income includes fees and fines. Examples of fees and fines include parking fines, building consents, and dog registration. Admission and parking charges are excluded from this category as they are treated as sales of goods and services.
Sales and other income
Includes trading receipts such as admission charges, water sold by meter, and other miscellaneous operating income. Excluded are any sales of goods and services charges within the authority (such as overheads).
More information
For more information, follow the link from the 'Technical notes' section of this release on the Statistics NZ website.
Copyright
Information obtained from Statistics NZ may be freely used, reproduced, or quoted unless otherwise specified. In all cases, Statistics NZ must be acknowledged as the source.
Liability
While care has been used in processing, analysing, and extracting information, Statistics NZ gives no warranty that the information supplied is free from error. Statistics NZ shall not be liable for any loss suffered through the use, directly or indirectly, of any information, product or service.
Timing
Timed statistical releases are delivered using postal and electronic services provided by third parties. Delivery of these releases may be delayed by circumstances outside the control of Statistics NZ. Statistics NZ accepts no responsibility for any such delays.