Performance Reports

Understanding the New Council Profile Data

In July 2024, the Government announced new performance benchmarks for local councils, as part of its “back to basics” approach. The Government’s stated goal is to improve transparency and give ratepayers more insight into how councils are performing.

The Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) has now released the set of Council Profiles, using publicly available data.  The focus of this data is on financial metrics.

View the Council Profile Data

The DIA information is based on a range of data, including the Annual Report 2023-24, Long Term Plan 2024-2034, Annual Plan 2025-26, Statistics NZ and the Local Government Funding Agency.

There are many ways to compare information about councils and also a few things to be aware of (see below).

The DIA data set compares us to a group of “large metro” councils. This includes Christchurch, Dunedin, Hamilton, Palmerston North, Porirua, Queenstown Lakes, Tauranga, Upper Hutt, Wellington, and Whangārei Councils.

Our financial performance reflects our major infrastructure investment programme at $2.8B over ten years, and comparatively high population growth. Associated with this investment is the need for higher debt levels and rates increases. This is a challenge for many high growth councils.

Across the large metro group there are many differences to the services we provide and the context we are operating in.

The data for the large metro group shows and reflects the high growth nature of Hutt City Council together with the focus on significant infrastructure investment in water services.

  • Hutt City Council population change is higher than the median at 1.7 compared to the group median of 1.3
  • The Hutt City Council planned capital expenditure over the three year period 2025 to 2027 at $709 million, which is higher than the group median of $669 million
  • Capital expenditure by activity for HCC is dominated by waste water 22% and water investment 18.1%, which are again higher than the group median at 15.8% and 10.5% respectively

We often look to our regional colleagues to compare our performance acknowledging there are many differences to the services we provide and the context we are operating in.

From an operational performance perspective, the data on staffing numbers and costs paints an interesting picture. For example, we have the second lowest average cost per full-time equivalent in the Wellington region.

We’re committed to financial transparency. You can explore this in our Annual Reports, which provide comprehensive audited financial information.

The new Council Profiles only show part of the picture. They don’t include the full context, like what services and outcomes our community receives for their rates, such as kerbside rubbish and recycling for residents, or the steps we’re taking to build a more resilient, future-ready city through major investment in water services and transport.

There are a range of limitations in the data in that it does not tell the full story of whether a Council has particular cost drivers behind expenditure such as tourism, disaster recovery (e.g. due to weather event) or growth-related investment.

Our financial performance will change significantly when the new water organisation is set up in July 2026.

We recently published our Pre-Election Report (16 July 2025). It tells a broader story, including:

  • Our current financial position
  • Progress toward a balanced operating budget
  • Key spending priorities
  • Comparative data from the past three years
  • Forecasts for the next three years
  • Wider context about our city, people, and priorities

You can read the full report online, download a PDF version, or listen to podcast summaries.

Want to know where your rates go? Head to pages 24–25 of the report for a full breakdown.

Like many councils across Aotearoa New Zealand, we’re facing several challenges — including:

  • Major reforms to water services and the Resource Management Act
  • Pressure to deliver on Government priorities that may be unfunded
  • Limited revenue tools outside of rates

We’ll continue to update this page with regular performance information. We encourage residents to explore both the Council Profile data, our Annual Plans and Long Term Plan, and our Pre-Election Report to understand the full picture of Council performance, priorities, and plans.

If you have any questions or would like more detail, please get in touch.

Quarterly Performance Reports

Each quarterly report has:

  • Highlights and areas for future focus
  • Weather response and recovery activity, where relevant
  • Strategic focus areas
  • Te Herenga Kairangi progress
  • Major projects and programmes
  • Financial summary
  • Treasury management summary
  • Non-financial key performance indicator results and trends