LETTER: Roll out the red carpet | Auckland Opinion | Local Voices from Auckland, New Zealand

One omission from this article was any comparison with other councils. Whilst the article tried to create a certain perception, the reality is quite different. Comparing Papakura District Councils debt per head of population with other Auckland Councils, Papakura actually has the lowest levels of debt in the region.
Debt levels across the region for each council per head of population are as follows: Waitakere $3127, Rodney $2931, Auckland City $1841, Franklin $1680, Manukau City $1615, North Shore $1362 and Papakura $1140.
Debt funding is now commonly used by councils to spread the cost of essential but expensive capital projects such as stormwater upgrades or the purchase of land for sportsfields and recreational activities. Since the introduction of long term council community plans, councils now need to show proposed projects and expenditure for 10 year periods, rather than the year to year rating that previously occurred and the tendency to defer costly projects to 'another year'.
In recent years, councils have also been required to fund depreciation on their assets and whilst this has had an impact on rate increases in recent years in the longer term it will reduce the need for councils to borrow and make it easier to fund renewals of community assets and infrastructure.
Caroline Conroy
Councillor
Papakura District Council