Mayor’s welcome

This is my final Annual Report as Mayor of Wellington and it has been a privilege to lead the Council for the past 6 years and to have served as a councillor before that. Democratic leadership, skilled staff, positive external relationships and committed volunteers form a powerful model for a modern progressive city. Our strategic vision is straightforward; to grow and promote Wellington as an inclusive, diverse, smart capital where talent wants to live, set in a flourishing natural environment.  In the past financial year, Wellington City Council has helped deliver on this vision and I’m proud of the Wellington City Council team who work hard, day in and day out, to achieve that.

The Wellington Regional Economic Development Agency (WREDA), now in its second year, has started to contribute strongly to the region’s economic wellbeing. Economic growth will blossom from seeds planted this year through the airport runway extension, the new Singapore Airlines route linking Wellington, Canberra and Singapore plus our agreement to build a marvellous movie museum and convention centre. The Collider tech hub and 18 million CBD free Wi-fi logons maximise virtual connections.

Wellington continues to be New Zealand’s arts, culture and events capital. Last July, we celebrated 150 years of Wellington being the capital in style with our Open House weekend and a fabulous concert and light show in the grounds of Parliament. We reflected on World War 1 through our continuing WW100 commemorations. The amazing New Zealand Festival and Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo together attracted over 100,000 visitors and generated $60 million of new spending from outside the region. We worked with New Zealand Rugby to make sure the Sevens Rugby Tournament stayed in Wellington. Summer City, Diwali, the Korean Festival, Wellington Pasifika Festival and Matariki are some of my favourite events and the second CubaDupa highlighted our upgraded laneways.

Our international connections were further strengthened during the year with the inaugural New Zealand-China Mayoral Forum in our sister city Xiamen where we showcased Wellington to major trading and education partners.  We opened a New Zealand section in the prominent Seashine Supermarket chain in the Fujian Province and created more opportunities to export food, beverages, education and culture. We've supported a number of film co-production projects.

I am personally very proud of securing Wellington’s membership in the 100 Resilient Cities programme. With that additional focus we, and our partners, have continued to make Wellington’s resilience to acute shocks and chronic stresses a high priority. We have appointed a Chief Resilience Officer.  We were the first council to assess all pre-1976 commercial and apartment buildings for earthquake risk and we have substantially increased the heritage grants to help owners. Wellington Water Ltd has built new reservoirs and strengthened existing ones. The Island Bay Seawall was reconstructed, but climate change has many more challenges ahead.

We became a partner in the international Biophilic Cities network in 2013. A biophilic city has abundant nature close to where people live. During this year, the Town Belt legislation was enacted and we laid increased commitment to biodiversity and predator control. We also have more walking and cycling tracks to help people enjoy nature and we’ve secured government partnerships for an urban cycle network.

With our partners the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority, Microsoft and the Energy Management Association, we launched the Smart Buildings Challenge to assist commercial building owners manage and reduce their energy use. 

The provision of quality and affordable housing is a key priority for the city. People are enjoying warmer and drier homes as a result of our work with the Crown to upgrade social housing. Most recently we’ve commenced work on the Arlington social housing complex, a huge undertaking that will transform around 12 % of our social housing stock. We’ve also brought together a strategic leadership group, including central government agencies, committed to end street homelessness. Special Housing Areas have catalysed housing projects including Erskine, Shelly Bay and several Housing NZ redevelopments. We extended the living wage to Wellington City Council staff and Council Controlled Organisations.

Importantly, our finances are in a strong position with Standard & Poor’s AA rating which enables Council to invest for growth and wellbeing.

Thanks to all the staff, Councillors, contractors, artists, entrepreneurs, volunteers, educators, government agencies and other partners who make Wellington “the coolest little city in the world!”1

CELIA WADE-BROWN
Mayor of Wellington

1 Vogue, September, 2015

Chief Executive’s welcome

2015/16 was the first year of our Long-term plan 2015-25 (LTP). I am pleased to say it has been a successful year and the Council has taken significant steps towards the achievement of our outcomes.

When Council agreed to the Long-term plan 2015-25, we knew it was ambitious. It’s a $5 billion 10-year budget that makes no cuts or service-level reductions while also setting out a bold plan of action that includes around $800m of transformative investment over the 10 years. When we consulted on the plan, nearly 70 % of Wellingtonians told us they supported modest average annual rate increases of 3.9 % over the 10 years to deliver the additional outcomes proposed.

As Wellingtonians, you want us to continue to invest in making Wellington an even more liveable, vibrant and attractive city. You have tasked us with making our assets work more effectively, you’ve told us you want our infrastructure to be even better and you’ve told us you want us to help create a growing economy.

This Annual Report sets out clearly and transparently how we did last year. It shows that we lived within our means while at the same time improving the quality and performance of the more than 400 core services we deliver every day.

We have worked hard to make the report readable and accessible for you as stakeholders. The first chapter shows you how we are working towards reaching our goals by showing you where we have been, where we are and where we plan to be, including making the organisation even more fit for purpose.

We have improved our Annual Report by linking our Statements of Service Performance to our outcomes in the City Vision - Smart City 2040; a dynamic central city, an eco-city, a people-centred city and a connected city. Linking what we do on a daily basis to the outcomes we want to achieve for Wellington demonstrates why, and how well, we do what we do.

We have made our Financial Statements clearer and easier to understand by placing our primary financial statements and their relevant supporting information together.

These improvements reflect our desire to better understand our performance, have the hard conversations – internally and with others – about our priorities and take the decisions necessary to achieve our vision.

Our Annual Report clearly highlights our successes; our core service delivery including water, infrastructure services, kerbside recycling and social housing continue to be sector-leading. We saw economic benefits from strong visitor numbers, hosted 11 major local and international events, our Zoo and Zealandia continue to record strong visitor numbers and we made significant progress on our movie museum and convention centre proposal. Progress continues to be made on the development of a proposal to extend the airport runway. We completed the revitalisation of Victoria Street and transformed laneways throughout the city.

But we cannot rest on our laurels, and we know we can always do better. Our Annual Report is a balanced-scorecard. The implementation of cycling infrastructure has been a challenge and lessons are being learnt. We are taking steps to address the areas where your feedback says we are not doing well enough. We are working hard to modernise our ICT infrastructure so we can be more agile and responsive than ever before.

Finally, our financial position remains strong. The Council retains its AA credit rating and, for the first time, Standard & Poors has formally acknowledged that Council’s credit rating would be AA+. The AA+ rating cannot be awarded as the Council’s credit rating cannot be greater than the Crown’s, this is indeed high praise.

I encourage you to engage with us as we implement our work programme in the Annual Plan 2016/17.  Together we can transform Wellington into a great city – a place where people from all walks of life will want to come and work, play and live.

KEVIN LAVERY
Chief Executive

The place of the possible

About our Annual Report

Every year all local authorities are required to present to their community an Annual Report that includes a set of audited financial statements. Our Annual Report sets out what we did last year, why we did these things (the outcomes we hoped to achieve), how much they cost and how much we achieved. Our Annual Report is adopted by Council on the recommendation of Council staff and our Audit and Risk Committee.

Our Annual Report was audited by Audit New Zealand, and their independent Auditors Report can be found at the end of the document. The Annual Report is available in paper form through our Council Office, our Libraries and Service Centre, or electronically from our website. See the Council Website here: http://wellington.govt.nz/

Who we are

While we are a body established under the Local Government Act 2002 to carry out specific legislative functions, our overall objective is working to make sure Wellington is a great place to live, work, play and visit.

We work to achieve this through the collective effort of our 15 elected representative – the Mayor and 14 Councilors, our staff, and our partners, all working together for our residents, rate-payers, and citizens.

It’s our Councilor’s job to make bylaws, set the city’s overall strategic direction, and approve budgets, policies and plans aimed at achieving that direction. Part of their role is to listen to and take the pulse of our community before making decisions.

Our elected representatives are supported by our Chief Executive, Kevin Lavery, and more than 1500 staff who provide advice, implement Council decisions, and look after the city’s day-to-day operations.

We have 77,271 ratepayers and 205,199 residents who are our customers, and contribute to the funding of our activities through property rates. We also provide many services and income from those services also provides critical funding for many of our activities.

Our core services and value adding activities

We carry out a combination of core services and value adding activities. Our core infrastructure and regulatory services and functions include:

Water, wastewater, stormwater and transport network infrastructure

Waste collection and reduction

Urban planning and building regulation

Public health and safety.

We also provide our residents and ratepayers with a number of important services such as libraries, museums, nature reserves, and other recreational facilities and community amenities.

Our value adding activities are things we do in addition to delivering the basics well. These often include initiatives that we undertake with our partners. Their purpose is to strengthen the diversity and resilience of Wellington’s economy and enhance Wellingtonians quality of life.

Our performance story

Our performance story explains the relationships between what we do, why we do it, and how we do it.

The “why” is simply our strategic framework – our vision and outcomes. Our vision is simple – grow and sustain Wellington City as ‘an inclusive place where talent wants to live’. Our four outcomes that will create long term positive change for our community are:

Connected-city

People-centred city

Eco-city

Dynamic-city

We carry out a number of activities to achieve these outcomes in the context of our strengths and challenges.

Our Strengths

Wellington

Available Comparisons2

89%
% who rate their quality of life as good or very good (2014 Quality of Life Survey)
80% Auckland,
80% Christchurch

38%
% of population over 15 with a university qualification (2013 Census, Statistics NZ)
19% Nationally

$67,940
Average annual income ($) (2013 Census, Statistics NZ)
$54,230 Nationally

4
No of businesses per 100,000 population among NZ’s fastest growing 50 (Deloitte Fast 50)
1.8 Auckland and upper NI

57.5%
% of GDP contributed by smart or creative industries
31.3% Nationally

34%
10-year increase in international visitor arrivals
23% Nationally

86%
% who agree that Wellington’s city centre is lively and attractive (Residents' Monitoring Survey 2015)

6.1t CO₂
Carbon emissions per capita (2012/2013) (Wellington City and Region Community Scale Greenhouse Gas Inventory 2000/01 – 2014/15)
7.3t CO₂ Auckland

Our Challenges

Wellington |  | Available comparision
2.1% | Average annual % GDP growth (last 10 years) (Infometrics) | 2.3% Auckland
1.4% | Average annual employment growth (last 10 years) (Infometrics) | 1.5% Auckland
1.2% | Average annual business growth (last 10 years) (Infometrics) | 1.7% Auckland
1.0% | Average annual population growth (last 5 years) (Infometrics) 3 | 1.8% Auckland
669 | Number of buildings identified as earthquake prone |

These activities are the “what” of our business and are outlined in our Long-term plan 2015–25 and include the following:

Governance – delivering trust and confidence in decision-making
Environment – protecting and enhancing Wellington’s environment
Economic Development – promoting the city’s competitive advantages in order to enhance quality of life
Cultural Wellbeing – reflecting and shaping Wellington’s unique cultural identity
Urban Development – preserving Wellington as a compact, vibrant and attractive city, now and into the future
Social and Recreation – sustaining safe, resilient and healthy communities
Transport – delivering an efficient and safe transport system that connects people and places

They include both our core services and functions and our value-add initiatives.

We carry out these activities in the context of the objectives in our Long-term plan:

“Investing to grow” through establishing a programme of major projects that grow the economy and deliver returns on investment

Investing to maintain and improve existing services, including making infrastructure more resilient and the city’s transport system more efficient

Increasing the use of existing assets rather than spending on new infrastructure

Improving asset management practices to better manage risk and the timing of asset replacement

Achieving ongoing efficiencies from shared services and improved customer experiences

The way we work as an organisation to achieve our activities is the “how”, and includes our people, stakeholders and customers, our systems and processes, our money and our assets.

We measure our performance against the ‘what’ activity areas using the measures included in our Long-term plan 2015–25. These are outlined in the chapter – ‘Measuring our Performance’

2 Data limitations prevent consistent comparisons.

3 http://ecoprofile.infometrics.co.nz/Wellington%2bCity

Our highlights – 2015/16

Our key achievements and challenges

We largely completed what we set out to do in our Long-term plan 2015–25. Some key highlights and challenges include:

Governance

Democracy and governance: Our new DigiHub provides timely access to all Council electronic information such as old house drawings or site plans. Our main challenges in 2016/17 are to better engage with our community so they feel more involved in decision-making and improve access to our information.

Implementation of our Customer Strategy during 2016/17 will help with this as will continued dialogue with the community. We will put into practice the lessons we learnt when engaging with the community on the Wellington City Urban Cycleways Programme (WCUCP) Island Bay cycleway. We will also build on the positive feedback we received on our social housing engagement for which we won International and Australasian awards.

Environment

Gardens, beaches and green open spaces: We invested to maintain and improve existing assets by improving our network of walking tracks and mountain bike facilities. We ran a successful Parks Week, and at the Botanic Garden a successful Summer City and Spring festival. Visitor numbers at the Zoo and Zealandia increased, particularly education visits to Zealandia.

Our challenge in 2016/17 is to continue working with our new partners to make sure we get back on track to plant two million trees by 2020.

Waste: We commercialised our successful start-up Kai to Compost Food Waste Collection Service. This means we can better meet the increasing demand for food waste diversion, and extended collection boundaries to Porirua, Upper Hutt, and beyond. We continued to work with other councils in the region on the Love Food Hate Waste Prevention programme that aims to educate households about how to reduce food waste, save money, and have fun at the same time.

Our key challenge in 2016/17 is to better understand why we aren’t meeting our target for residents satisfied with the quality of street cleaning as there has been no increase in complaint numbers.

Energy conservation: We launched the ‘Wellington 2050 Energy Calculator’ which allows our residents to explore how their energy and transport use shapes our carbon footprint. We also insulated 167 homes through our initiative ‘Warm Up Wellington’. Our Low Carbon Challenge brought together innovators to develop initiatives to reduce emissions. Six teams were selected to enter the incubator programme, of which three qualify for match funding with us. We also produced a Low Carbon Capital Plan 2016-2018 – a plan we will implement over the next 3 years.

Water, wastewater and stormwater: Through a Council Controlled Organisation (CCO) – Wellington Water Ltd – we continued to maintain and improve existing water, wastewater and stormwater facilities over the year. We continue to fully comply with New Zealand drinking water standards and maintain the water supply quality gradings from the Ministry of Health. Customer satisfaction with our water supply and wastewater services has increased and our stormwater activities resulted in an increase in the number of days monitored beaches are suitable for recreational use.

Our main challenges in 2016/17 are to better understand residents’ declining satisfaction with our stormwater services and dry weather wastewater overflows.

Economic

Economic development: To support our growth agenda, we agreed to support a movie museum and convention centre, purchasing the land needed on Cable Street. We also supported a number of events that foster economic growth including the New Zealand Festival (395 performances and seven world premieres), Beervana, Wellington on a Plate, the World of Wearable Art Show, Elton John, Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, the Super Rugby final, All Blacks vs Wales and Australia, and the ICC Cricket World Cup. We also supported arts and cultural activities including commemorating the 100-year anniversary of WW1 during Anzac Week, and supported Te Papa during its most successful year with 1,784, 939 visitors attending. Visitor numbers were strong over the year and commercial guest nights reached a combined total of 2,286,095. Also over the year, logins into our CBD free Wi-fi increased by 161%. Over the year the Basin Reserve Trust significantly exceeded its targets for sport and community events held at the Basin Reserve.

International relations: We attended the New Zealand-China Mayoral Forum Forum hosted by our Chinese sister city Xiamen, which focussed on trade and investment opportunities. To support our growth agenda the Mayor opened the NZ section of the Seashine Supermarket in Xiamen. On ANZAC day we signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Turkish city of Çanakkle – where Gallipoli is located.

Cultural wellbeing

Museums, galleries and visitor attractions: In addition to the successful high profile events such as the 100th anniversary of WW1 noted above, we supported a number of more local events such as Summer City Programme, Capital Christmas and the Sky Show. The Wellington Museums Trust also exceeded its visitor target for the year.

Social and recreation

Community facilities and services: We invested in and maintained existing services by upgrading the Wellington Regional Aquatic Centre, and worked with sports clubs and schools to form community sports hubs at Kilbirnie Park, Alex Moore Park, and Hataitai Ballpark. Our Pools Partnership Fund enabled Wellington East Girls’ College, Rewa Rewa School, Berhampore and Kilbirnie Schools to improve their pool facilities. Visits to our recreation centres including the ASB Sports Centre increased from last year. User satisfaction with our library services and facilities has improved since last year. Website visits along with e-library user satisfaction also increased over the year. We continued to support people isolated in our communities including new refugees and extended our successful Local Hosts initiative.

Our key challenges in 2016/17 are:

Usage of our sports and community centres and halls as weekly bookings are often not possible because of variable demand for space over the year

Usage of artificial sports fields – peak and off-peak which is driven is driven by demand from schools, and dependent on the weather and school budgets

User satisfaction with grass sportsfields – peak – as the quality of spaces is often affected by the weather and compares unfavourably to the quality of artificial grass

In light of our LTP objective to maximise usage of existing assets (rather than spending money on new infrastructure) in 2016/17 we will work to better understand these demand drivers and whether we need to change the way we provide community facilities and services.

City housing: We continued to provide affordable city housing (for around 4000 people) and started construction at the Kotuku and Arlington apartments. Our tenants are satisfied with our housing services and facilities and the condition of their houses. We won the regional and national New Zealand Institute of Architects Award for Marshall Court in Miramar. The Marshall Court flats also won the Winstone Wallboards Residential award at the New Zealand Commercial Project Awards.

Urban

City planning and development: Consistent with our objective to invest to maintain and improve, we revitalised a number of public spaces, including a series of public lanes that make the city a livelier place to be. The value of commercial building consents has also increased over the last 3 years.

Resilience: We were selected to join the Rockefeller Foundation 100 Resilient Cities (100RC) programme, from around the world and are developing a Resilience Strategy focussing on earthquake recovery, adapting to sea level rise, quality of life and economic prosperity.

Regulatory services: The majority of our customers are happy with our building control services. This reflects the effort we put into our customers to help them through their building consent and associated processes.

Our key challenges in 2016/17 are to improve the timeliness of issuing building consents, codes of compliance and Land Information Memorandums (LIMs). A combination of training provided to new building staff and improved internal monitoring systems will help with these timeliness issues in 2016/17. We also need to focus on our local suburban centres as our residents don’t consider them lively and attractive. Our work on Business Improvement Districts is one way of improving suburban centres. The type of traffic work recently carried out in Johnsonville is another way of addressing the liveliness of other suburban areas.

Transport

Roads: We exceeded our target for the percentage of roads that meet compulsory smooth road standards. The increase in residents and visitors in the city has resulted in more passengers using the iconic Wellington Cable Car.

Our key challenge for 2016/17 is the Island Bay component of the WCUCP. The method and level of community engagement on the cycleway resulted in significant unease that impacted on other projects in the WCUCP, and confidence in Council’s ability to deliver the WCUCP. A review of the WCUCP commissioned by New Zealand Transport Authority (NZTA) made a series of recommendations for change. In 2016/17 working with NZTA we are refreshing the cycle way programme and our engagement process with the community.

Other challenges for 2016/17 were:

Resident satisfaction with the condition of our roads and footpaths and suburban street lighting

Percentage of the sealed road network that is resurfaced

Resident dissatisfaction with suburban street lighting is largely a result of power cuts – an issue beyond our control. As failures occur we are upgrading our lights with more reliable LEDs. Resident dissatisfaction with the condition of our roads and footpaths, and the decline in the percentage of local roads being re-surfaced are a result of contractual issues. In 2016/17 we will make sure any shortfalls are resolved.

Finances made simple

This section outlines what our financial results mean to you. For greater detail on our financial performance and position, see the Financial Statements on page 138.

As part of the Long-term plan 2015–25, we committed to the following approach:

Do the basics well

Have sound finances

An external focus on growing the local economy and rate payer base

The following pages explain how well we’ve performed in relation to this overall approach.

Doing the basics well

The Council is doing the financial basics well. We have achieved our goal of a small underlying surplus of $6.1 million, 1.3% of operating expenditure for the financial year. We are successful if the underlying surplus or deficit is close to breakeven (zero), as our aim is to have operating revenue equal to operating expenditure.

The balanced budget requirement (as per the Local Government Act) is closely linked to the principle of intergenerational equity, the notion that each generation of ratepayers pays their fair share for the goods and services they use.

In order to calculate the underlying surplus, we exclude certain accounting transactions such as vested assets, fair value movements and other items which are recognised as revenue but are really capital or non-cash in nature. We exclude these because they do not impact on the amount of the rates we collect.

Actual
2016
$M
Budget
2016
$M
Variance

$M

Reported net surplus
34.1
23.1
11.0

Add back Non-cash funded items4
1.7
11.2
(9.5)

Less revenue for capital items5
(28.3)
(38.0)
9.7

Other adjustments
(1.4)
3.7
(5.1)

Underlying surplus
6.1
0
6.1

For 4 of the last 5 years we have been consistent in achieving our goal of coming close to breakeven. For instance, in 2016 operating expenditure was $453.0 million for the year and the underlying surplus was 1.3% of that total.

NOTE: The numbers in the graph above all exclude the movement in the Council’s weathertight homes provision as this is being separately funded.

During this time, we have delivered a wide range of services, from resurfacing roads and managing the water network to providing parks, pools, sportfields and libraries at a cost of $6.056 per day per resident.

During the year we received total revenue of $487.1 million (2015: $469.9m) compared to a budget of $462.2 million. The difference is largely due to unbudgeted vested assets (which, while not cash in nature, are required to be shown as revenue) and higher than expected revenue from Wellington Venues and our share in joint ventures with Porirua City Council.

Rates are our main source of funding, with revenue from operating activities (including user fees) the next largest source. Some of our other sources include revenue from capital expenditure, revenue from interest, and dividends.

In 2016 we received $272.1 million (2015: $253.6m) of revenue from rates.7 Rates revenue includes general rates levied on properties and a range of targeted rates including water, stormwater and sewerage rates, along with sector and area-based rates. The average increase in rates was 3.9%, as outlined in the LTP.

As part of doing the basics well, we need to ensure we collect the revenue we have charged. We have achieved this, and only have a small proportion of current rates revenue, 1.8%, still to be collected. This compares favourably with previous years, where the 3-year average and 5-year average is 2.1% of rates revenue.

Our total expenses for the year were $453.0 million (2015: $434.3m), which represents the cost of running the city during the year. Our activities and their related expenditure are divided into the strategic areas of focus, as shown in the graph below:

The table below shows the cost for each of the strategic areas per resident per day.

Strategic area | Total cost $m | Cost per resident per year $ | Cost per resident per day $
Governance | 16.2 | 79 | 0.22
Environment | 151.5 | 738 | 2.02
Economic development | 38.8 | 189 | 0.52
Cultural wellbeing | 19.2 | 94 | 0.26
Social and recreation | 103.7 | 505 | 1.38
Urban development | 27.8 | 136 | 0.37
Transport | 58.9 | 287 | 0.79
Council | 36.9 | 180 | 0.49
Total | 453.0 | 2,208 | 6.05

To find out more about these strategic areas, see Statements of Service Provision.

As discussed above, there is a difference between the reported net surplus and the “Underlying Surplus” due to the exclusion of non-funded and capital-related transactions and what is required to be reported under Financial Reporting Standards. On this basis, we have achieved a $34.1 million net surplus (2015: $35.5m) compared to a budgeted $23.1 million – a favourable difference of $11.0 million. The major variances from budget are discussed following the Statement of Comprehensive Revenue and Expense on page 146.

We have a comprehensive renewal programme for our assets and have completed $124.4 million (excluding unbudgeted expenditure of $21.5 million relating to the purchase of land for the proposed movie museum and convention centre) of capital expenditure which equates to 72% of our capital expenditure plan for the year. We will carry forward $48.0 million into future years to finish what we have started.

Sound Finances

There are a number of aspects to being in a sound financial position, and some of them have been covered in the previous section. Central to this, however, is the Council’s debt position and future borrowing capacity. Constraints on borrowing could affect our ability to maintain assets or fund growth initiatives.

Net borrowings have increased by $28.7 million (2015: $21.3m) during the year to $396.5 million (2015: $367.8m). Net borrowings are the total borrowings less any cash and cash equivalents and current deposits. The average borrowing per resident is $1,932 (2015: $1,844). The total net borrowing of $396.5 million (2015: $367.8m) is less than 82% (2015: 80%) of our annual revenue and makes up 10% (2015: 10%) of total assets. This is equivalent to a household with a property value of $570,000 earning $70,000 a year, having a mortgage of less than $57,000.

How much we need to borrow depends on the level of capital expenditure during the year. For 2016 capital expenditure was $145.9 million, or $124.4million excluding $21.5million relating to the purchase of land for the proposed movie museum and convention centre, (2015: $146.5m) compared to a budget of $173.8 million. The difference is mainly due to major upgrade projects being delayed, including earthquake strengthening of the Town Hall, and in the city social housing programme.

In terms of borrowings compliance, we have maintained our AA rating with the independent credit rating agency Standard and Poor’s. The credit rating is a comparative measure of our financial strength. Our AA credit rating is the highest given to any council in New Zealand. Holding and maintaining such a high credit rating provides us with a range of benefits that would not otherwise be available. These benefits include access to lower cost borrowings and a wider range of borrowing alternatives.

As detailed below, we have a very strong financial position based on the following major asset types:

Property, plant and equipment (including land, buildings, pipes, roads and other infrastructure assets) – $6,645.9 million

Other assets (including investment properties and investments in controlled entities and associates) – $434.2 million

These assets have increased due to the level of capital expenditure and investment property revaluations.

We also continue to maintain a strong investment position when compared with the level of borrowings. The graph below compares the balance of investments and net borrowings over the last 5 years.

Note: Investments comprise investment properties; investment in associates and jointly controlled entities; investment in controlled entities and other financial assets. Net Borrowings comprise current and non-current borrowing offset by cash and cash equivalents.

The value of investments mainly relates to investment properties, our share of the net assets of our associates (including Wellington International Airport Limited) and other financial assets.

We have prudently managed our borrowings to ensure we meet the specified requirements in our Long-term Financial Strategy. Net borrowings at 30 June 2016 are 81% (2015: 79%) of revenue, within the target of 150% set by the Council and significantly less than the 175% limit contained within our Financial Strategy. This is illustrated in the Financial Prudence section on page 237 on Local Government Benchmarks.

Our major liabilities include:

Gross borrowings – $490.5 million8

Other liabilities (including trade and other payables) – $205.1 million

There have been no significant changes in “Other Liabilities” during the year.

Growing the local economy and ratepayer base

We are also focused on developing and implementing our eight “big ideas” as outlined in the LTP 2015-25 to grow the local economy and encourage commercial development. We achieved our budgeted growth in the rating base of 1.2% (2015: 1.4%). Growth through residential and commercial developments means we can further spread the rates impact of the broad range of services that the Council provides.

The most significant growth initiative we are working on is the new movie museum and convention centre. We have already purchased the land and are now developing plans and budgets for its construction. We have a number of others already under way and these are described in greater detail in section 3, Economic Development, on page 54.

Another measure of growth in the city is the level of development contributions and vested assets to the Council. Vested assets are non-cash in nature – such as roads, streetlights, water, wastewater, and stormwater pipes – that are often the result of sub-division work. The Council received $2.7 million (2015: $2.1m) of development contributions, and $10.2 million (2015: $12.4m) of assets were vested during the year. This takes the level of development contributions and vested assets transferred to the Council to $37.1 million over the last 3 years.

Overall

As we have explained, we are sticking to the direction and are delivering on the financial approach contained in our Long-term plan 2015–25. We have performed well in our stewardship and financial governance role on behalf of the ratepayer. We have managed the finances so the rates requirement has not exceeded what was committed to in the Long-term plan, and have managed our borrowings in a prudential manner for all ratepayers.

4 Items such as vested assets (assets where the ownership of the asset have been transferred to the Council) or fair-value movements (changes in market value for assets that are revalued - primarily annual Investment Property revaluations) are transactions that are non-cash in nature but are required to be recognised as part of the net surplus.

5 Revenue for capital items refers to subsidies we receive for the construction of capital items such as roads and social housing assets but are required to be recognised as part of the net surplus.

6 Based on the total rates revenue divided by total number of residents.

7 Annual Report, Notes to the financial statements, Note 1: Rates Revenue, page 147.

8 Annual Report, Notes to the financial statements, Note 23 Borrowings, page 191.

How we supported ourselves to do well

We will only achieve our outcomes if we work well as an organisation. This means working well internally as well as working well with others – our customers, stakeholders, providers and partners. This is a new section of our Annual Report and is driven by good management practices and the Long-term plan objectives: improving asset management practices to better manage risk and the timing of asset replacement, and achieving ongoing efficiencies from shared services and improved customer experiences.

Over the year we made progress to support ourselves and the achievement of our outcomes. At a strategic level we developed a new operating model and are in the process of developing a roadmap to implement its principles and objectives. This is a business model that places our customers at the centre of what we do, and we will be progressively adapting how we deliver services so they are more customer-centric. We also carried out activities in the following areas:

People: A Health and Well-being Strategy containing well-being programmes. We developed a Leadership Development Programme, focussing on emerging leaders and those who ‘lead where they stand’. We also introduced an Integrated Framework for the Delivery of Skills to make sure we have the right skills and competencies across our organisation

Culture and values: In response to our Climate and Culture Survey we delivered the Crucial Conservation programme and our Leadership Development Programme. We also delivered a Performance Development Framework to improve individual and team performance, and a Health and Safety Plan in response to recent legislative reforms

Customers and stakeholders: We worked on our Customer Strategy to ensure we provide the services our customers need and the way our customers want them. We also hosted various stakeholder meetings, in particular meetings with our Treaty partners in accordance with our obligations under the Resource Management Act 1999. To connect iwi and the community we provided cultural advice and generally engaged with the wider Māori community

Systems and processes: We continued working on our Odyssey project which will improve our customer service, reduce IT costs, increase our business efficiency, and position us for future changes in the way we work. OneCouncil is the platform for our transformation and merges our current applications (customer service, land, property, regulatory, assets, finance, human resources and payroll functions) onto a single platform. Phase 1 of OneCouncil comprises the Finance, Assets and Payroll modules, and the Finance and Assets module went live in July 2016. We also implemented TROVE – our new EDRMS and entered into an ICT Shared Service with Porirua City Council, Upper Hutt City Council and Wellington Water Ltd. We also maintained and improved our business continuity plans

Assets: Our OneCouncil Enterprise Asset Management module which replaces over 20 separate systems and tools went live in July 2016. We introduced the living wage and a social responsibility clause in our procurement contracts

Money: We primarily focussed on ways to improve financial forecasting from the point of view of continuous improvement

On balance we made significant progress to improve and enhance the health of our people, culture and values, customers and stakeholders, systems and processes, assets and our money over 2015/16. In the future we will develop ‘fit for purpose’ measures on each of these areas to report on.

Where we are going

Our Annual Plan 2016/17

Under the Local Government Act 2002 we are required to adopt an Annual Plan for each financial year. In our Annual Plan 2016/17 we have committed to undertaking work in each of our key activities (the what) in the table below. As part of our annual business planning process, we have also committed to a number of activities relating to our people, culture and values, customers and stakeholders, systems and processes, assets and money (the how).

The table below outlines the activities we have planned and budgeted to undertake in 2016/17.

Where we are going – 2016/17

Activity
Initiatives

Governance
Governance: Local Government Election 2016; Amendment to LTP reflecting Council’s decisions on movie museum and convention centre proposal.

Access to information: Ongoing digitisation of Council-held information (Digihub).

Cultural well being
Grants: Financial support to Circa Theatre and technical groups using the theatre and on-going cultural grant funding.

Events: New free outdoor events series including music, dance, theatre, circus and digital art; Ongoing maintenance of the Pukeahu National War Museum Park.

Environment
Gardens, beaches and green open spaces: Purchase Zealandia Visitor Centre form Karori Sanctuary Trust and create a Zealandia Council Controlled Organisation; Planning for Harbour escarpment walk that will eventually link Waihinahina Park in Newlands to Kaiwharawhara; On-going renewals of our walkways and tracks and work on our Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan.

Wastewater: Scope feasibility and impact of Council ownership of wastewater pipes that link private houses and businesses to public sewers.

Stormwater: Hydraulic modelling of network; upgrades; Stage 1 of the Lyall Bay Foreshore Resilience Plan.

Energy efficiency: Implementing our Low Carbon Capital Plan 2016-18.

Economic development
Events: Wellington Regional Economic Development Agency (WREDA) to focus on activities making Wellington the most prosperous, liveable and vibrant region in Australasia; City Growth Fund – provide $2.4 million for events, initiatives and partnerships; $150,000 funding injection to extend free Wi-Fi.

Major projects: Pending Council and The Movie Museum Ltd negotiating final terms, construction of the movie museum and convention centre; A $5.0 million grant to Wellington Regional Stadium Trust to upgrade Westpac Stadium; Wellington Airport runway extension; Michael Fowler Centre Carpark; School of Music proposal; North Kumutoto and Frank Kitts Park.

Business Improvement Districts: Targeted rate to raise $80,000 on commercially rated properties in Kilbirnie Business Improvement District.

Social and Recreation
Sport and Recreation facilities: Develop a Sport and Recreation Plan; A third artificial turf sportsfield at National Hockey Stadium; An artificial playing surface at former Terawhiti Bowling Club in Karori; Subject to further funding arrangements, redevelopment of theToitu Poneke Sports Hub; Maintenance Work on Freyberg Pool; Planning work for the new community playground in Wakefield Park and renewal of various playgrounds.

Libraries and community spaces: Johnsonville library – further design work in consultation with the community.

Development of individual well-being, safe neighbourhoods and engaged communities: Wellington becoming a UNICEF child and youth friendly city; On-going work on Te Mahana programme for ending homelessness.

Social and recreation grants: Funding for projects that will have a positive impact on vulnerable groups, including refugees.

City housing: Social Housing Upgrade Programme – new build at Arlington East.

Community centres and halls: Start work on Aro Valley Community Centre and Newtown Community and Cultural Centre.

Urban: Street community and place-based programmes. Implementation of the Basin Reserve Master Plan.

Public health and safety: Fencing of one dog exercise area; Graffiti management; Implementing Smokefree Wellington Action Plan; Renewal of Karori Crematorium and earthquake strengthening of chapels.

Urban
Urban growth: Establishment of an Urban Development Agency to unlock barriers to development potential.

Public spaces : Upgrades to Lombard Lane, Cable Car Lane and Frank Kitts Park; Tawa Town Centre Upgrade; Urban Activation Fund aimed at transforming streets and laneways in Holland and Garrett Street, Swan Lane; and Installation of three drinking fountains, one at Midland Park, Civic Square and Lower Cuba Street.

Built Heritage Fund: Funding for the conservation specific work and maintenance work on heritage items.

Resilience: Development of a programme of work to implement Council’s resilience strategy as part of Council’s deliberations for the 2018-28 Long-term plan; strengthening and upgrading of the Town Hall; and beautification work on public spaces.

Commonwealth Walkway: A pathway that connects 32 monuments, parks, building and historic places along a 9 km loop.

Transport
Transport: Working in conjunction with Greater Wellington Regional Council (GWRC) to expand the range and scope of bus priority measures; in conjunction with New Zealand Transport Authority review and refresh the cycle programme and undertake community-focussed engagement; a number of small projects to improve pedestrian flow in CBD; safer speeds project that proposes to reduce vehicle speeds in the central city and key suburban areas.

Parking: Continue installation of parking sensors using SMART technology; Replacement of Cable Car drive mechanism; and Parking Policy Review.

We also planned the following key initiatives to further support the ‘how’ of our business.

‘How’ dimension
Initiatives

People
Health and Safety Plan (Risks, Relationships, Resources); Workforce Planning; Develop capability to support Business Transformation; Strategic Integrated HR Management System; Diversity Management; Youth to Work programme.

Culture and values
Culture and Climate Survey; Employment Value Proposition (employer of choice); and Customer Centric Delivery Model.

Customers and stakeholders
Boost capability and capacity to implement Customer Strategy; Develop resources for staff to ensure best practice engagement; Targeted Operating Model.

Systems and processes
Odyssey - OneCouncil payroll module ‘go live’; Phase 1b Enterprise Asset Management ‘go live’; Prepare modules for customer service, land, property, regulatory and HR functions to go live in following years; Implement our Health and Safety Plan and review our risk controls, safety leadership, worker engagement and reporting and assurance; TROVE – phase 2; and section 17a Service Delivery Review for cost-effectiveness under the Local Government Act.

Assets
Implement Odyssey Enterprise Asset Management. Module.

Money
Implement Odyssey Payroll module.

LTP amendment

Early in 2016 the Council consulted with the public on a proposal for the development of a movie museum and convention centre which would result in an amendment to our Long-term plan 2015-25. We plan to formalise this amendment later in 2016.

Statements of Service Provision

This Statements of Service Performance (SSP) section outlines the activities and services we have undertaken over the year as well as how well we performed in year one of our LTP.

We have changed the presentation of our SSP this year by telling our performance story with a focus on how our achievements relate to our outcomes. Each activity chapter now includes a high level strategy map that shows the logic, or line of sight, between our money, the activities we committed to in our LTP objectives, and our outcomes. To understand the line of sight between our varying activities, and our outcomes, we shade text within the strategy maps (bold text means solid line of sight). Under each of our key activity areas we carry out a number of sub activities that align to our outcomes. We have included an outcome table under each strategy map to explain the relationship between the sub activity and our outcomes. We call this our outcome statements and we use them to tell our narrative about our key achievements for the year.

Working with others, particularly our CCOs is a big part of how we will achieve our outcomes. This year we have included information (as a stand-alone table) relating to our CCOs within relevant activity chapters.

To tell our performance story we use our performance measures and outcome indicators from the LTP. This information is drawn from a wide variety of sources, including our annual Residents’ Monitoring Survey9 . Our performance measures include the mandatory non-financial performance measure rules required under the Local Government Act 2002. This year our performance information can be found in the following stand-alone chapter titled ‘Measuring our Performance’. Where these measures are useful to our performance discussion, we have highlighted this detail in each activity chapter. Our performance in 2015/16 is measured by comparing our actual achievements against the targets we established for each measure in the LTP. In measuring our outcome indicators we use a traffic light system (red, orange and green) to show whether we achieved our target.

Traffic light | Performance
Green | Improved performance | Performance on target or improved
Amber | Did not achieve | Performance within 3 percentage points of target
Red | Did not achieve | Did not achieve

Percentage point explanations for performance measures are provided for measures within 10 percentage points from target. For our outcome indicators, which often don’t have targets, we measure our performance against results in 2014/15 using the same traffic light system.

9 The Residents’ Monitoring Survey (RMS) has two parts, both of which are weighted to be representative of Wellington’s population in terms of age, gender and ward. All participants are aged over 18, with 760 responses to part 1 and 686 for part 2. The standard margin of error is +/-3.55% for part 1, and +/-3.74% for part 2. Over the last few years, we have made the transition from conducting our Residents Monitoring Surveys using telephone surveys to now conducting them online. Therefore, because of this methodology change, previous results are not directly comparable. Consequently, only three years of data is included for any measures taken from the RMS.

1 Governance

Pārongo ā-tāone

Delivering trust and confidence in decision-making

BY THE NUMBERS

141,904

Number of registered voters in Wellington City. This is an increase from 136, 390 in 2013.

Governance – at a glance

Outcomes
Connected-city
People-centred city
Eco-city
Dynamic-city

Relevant LTP objectives

“Investing to grow” through establishing a programme of major projects that grow the economy and deliver returns on investment;

Investing to maintain and improve existing services, including making infrastructure more resilient and the city’s transport system more efficient;

Increasing the use of existing assets rather than spending on new infrastructure;

Improving asset management practices to better manage risk and the timing of asset replacement; and

Achieving ongoing efficiencies from shared services and improved customer experiences.

LTP key activities
Governance, information and engagement.
Māori and mana whenua partnerships.

Relevant LTP projects
Governing the Region; A partnership approach; Involving residents in decision-making; Māori and Mana Whenua Partnerships.

Operational expenditure
Operational expenditure (as per financial summary).

Good governance (which is democratic decision-making on behalf of our community) and informed engagement with our community are the foundations of the successful achievement of our outcomes. Good governance, informing and listening to residents so we can make decisions that are in the city’s best interests, and managing our partnerships with mana whenua (and other groups) ensure we have a local democracy. They also ensure we make quality decisions regarding the activities needed to achieve our outcomes. Our aim is to build trust and confidence in our decisions and delivery.

1.1

Governance, information and engagement

Pārongo, kōrerorero whānui me ngā mahi whakataunga

We want to involve people, and maintain their confidence, in our decision-making

We want our information and services to be accessible to our residents

What we do and why

The Local Government Act 2002, sets out the decision-making, planning and accountability procedures expected of us. Our decisions need to reflect the services that matter to the community and how much they are willing to pay for them. We need to ensure people are well-informed and can contribute meaningfully to Council decision-making processes. The Public Records Act 2005, requires us to keep a record of our work and provides access to the information we hold. City Archives preserves and makes available a huge range of primary information about the city’s history.

Our key activities include:

City governance and engagement: We provide advice, research and administrative support to elected members and community boards. We run local body elections and undertake accountability planning and reporting functions. We also facilitate engagement with the community on key issues, including input from advisory groups on specific areas

Civic information: Our Contact Centre and website provides 24/7 access to information, including the ability to log service faults

City Archives: We manage archival information in line with relevant legislation

Māori and mana whenua partnerships: We maintain formal relationships and work alongside Māori and mana whenua

These activities are the foundation to the achievement of all our outcomes, and in particular contribute to the following outcome:

Outcome
Outcome statement

People-centred city

Enhances trust and confidence in civic decision-making and encourages the community to participate in how the city is run

Providing information about the city and its services allows people to use the city’s facilities and provides access to information

Our City Archives is a guardian of Wellington’s memory. It preserves and makes available a huge range of primary information about the city’s history

Our key achievements

We enhanced trust and confidence in civic decision making and encouraged the community to participate in how the city is run

Engaging and informing the public are our core business and e-governance continued to be a key focus in 2015/16. With live-streaming of Council meetings now well-established, elected members can now use an audio-visual link to take part in Council meetings.

To help residents to participate in how we run the city we introduced an electronic process that speeds up the production of Council and Committee agendas and minutes. However, for the first time since 2013/14 we have not met our 2 working day target. This was because an agenda was delayed to accommodate a late application for a temporary road closure and the issue could not be postponed to the following monthly Council meeting.

Measure
2015/16 Actual Performance
2015/16 Target

Percentage of Council and Committee agendas made available to the public within statutory timeframes (2 working days).
94%
Did not achieve
100%

2014/15 Performance

100%

Source: Democratic Services

It is also now possible for residents to participate in Council and Committee meetings electronically. During the year we received six ePetitions and 129 people participated.

While we didn’t meet our target for residents satisfied with the level of consultation, this rating was the same as last year.

Measure
2015/16 Actual Performance
2015/16 Target

Percentage of residents satisfied with level of consultation
53%
Did not achieve
55%

2014/15 Performance

53%

Source: WCC Residents’ Monitoring Survey

There was also significant decline in resident’s satisfaction with their involvement in our decision making.

Measure
2015/16 Actual Performance
2015/16 Target

Percentage of residents satisfied with their involvement in Council decision-making
59%
Did not achieve
75%

2014/15 Performance

74%

Source: WCC Residents’ Monitoring Survey

We will look further into these residents satisfaction with their involvement in decision-making. Our Customer Strategy currently under development will also help address this.

We provided information about the city and its services allowing people to use the city’s facilities and have access to information

Our Service Centre continues to be the physical face of Council – but we also respond through a variety of mediums including face-to-face, emails, phone calls, text messages and on-line. Our residents and customers don’t get stuck in call queues with over 80 % of them being quickly redirected within the business.

Measure
2015/16 Actual Performance
2015/16 Target

Contact Centre calls answered in 30 seconds
80%
Improved performance
80%

2014/15 Performance

84%

Source: WCC Contact Centre

Our FIXiT smart phone app improves our residents’ access to our services. There has been an increase in the number of FIXiT notifications received over the year which maybe a response to the work we undertook to improve the profile of this channel. During 2015/16 we responded to 289,200 calls, 21,190 emails and 12,328 texts using our FIXiT app.

The number of residents who agree our information is easy to access has improved over the year but we have yet to achieve our target. Further work is under way to improve this.

Measure
2015/16 Actual Performance
2015/16 Target

Percentage of residents who agree that Council information is easy to access
49%
Did not achieve
55%

2014/15 Performance

48%

Source: WCC Residents’ Monitoring Survey

Our City Archives preserved and made available a huge range of primary information about the city’s history.

We improved the way we met our legislative obligations to preserve and make available information through our new DigiHub centre.

Case study

DigiHub, City Archives

Over the year we made significant progress in the digitisation of Council-held information. Digitisation reduces damage to our historic records, such as building permits, and makes it easier for the public (who previously had to visit our City Archives building) to access this historical information. It is one of the ways we’re moving towards becoming an electronic and paperless office.

In July 2015 City Archives introduced a new Building Consent Search Service. This allows the public to request and receive building consent information through our website for any property in the Council area for a fixed fee.

In early 2016 we set up a dedicated digitisation hub (DigiHub) and now respond to internal and external information requests in digital form. The result is our customers have timely access to our information, as do our staff who can access information through our content management system (TROVE). Since going live on 4 April 2016, DigiHub has prepped and scanned around 3750 files and created just under 240,000 pages of information. This is only 0.5% of all the items City Archives holds. We continue to receive positive feedback about this new service, as the process saves time and gives customers a complete record of a property.

“I’d just like to congratulate WCC for implementing the new service for downloading property files (building consent archive plans etc….) and providing a service to burn these direct to CD and courier out to the purchaser. As architects we used to have to spend large amounts of time coming down to WCC archives to review the files, when we really just want all the information available, and then to be able to filter and review it back at our own office, and to be able to go back and review portions of the existing information in future, to make sure we have not missed anything. This new service was fast, efficient and saved us a great deal of time. Thanks, WCC.” (Name withheld)

“Just to let you know, we are pretty impressed with the new download method of receiving archive documentation. Very large files have come through with no hiccups and it’s very helpful to have all the miscellaneous file information included.” (Name withheld)

“The new electronic delivery of archived consent info is a huge step forward.” (Name withheld)

Our performance

Quality of the public’s involvement in Council decision-making: We didn’t meet our targets for residents’ satisfaction with the level of consultation and their involvement with decision-making. The percentage of residents satisfied with the level of consultation was the same as last year. The percentage satisfied with their involvement in decision-making was lower than last year. Implementation of our Customer Strategy and new approaches to engagement should help us improve these satisfaction ratings in future.

Quality and timeliness of residents’ access to information: We didn’t meet our target for residents who agree Council information is easy to access although there was a slight improvement from last year. In addition, we didn’t meet our target for the percentage of residents who agree our website is easy to navigate and get information from. Again there was a decline in our performance from last year. We will consider how to address better access to our website and Council information in the future.

Further information can be found in the section ‘Measuring our Performance’.

Finances

How it was funded

Services in this activity are funded mostly through non-targeted rates, with a small portion funded through fees and user charges for Civic Information and City Archives.

What it cost 2015/16

Operating
Expenditure
($000) 
Actual
2016
Budget
2016
Variance
2016
Actual
2015

1.1.1 City Governance and Engagement ¹

Expenditure
9,433
9,901
468
9,181

Revenue
(29)
(12)
17
(106)

Net Expenditure
9,404
9,889
485
9,075

1.1.2 Civic Information ²

Expenditure
5,334
5,435
101
5,364

Revenue
(569)
(313)
256
(387)

Net Expenditure
4,765
5,122
357
4,977

1.1.3 City Archives ³

Expenditure
1,207
1,758
551
1,194

Revenue
(153)
(182)
(29)
(162)

Net Expenditure
1,054
1,576
522
1,032

 Capital Expenditure ($000)
Actual
2016
Budget
2016
Variance
2016
Actual
2015

1.1.1 City Governance and Engagement

Expenditure
-
-
-
-

Unspent portion of budget to be carried forward
N/A
-
-
N/A

1Under budget due to savings in internal costs regarding the elected members and marketing costs associated with Our Wellington programme.
2Under budget due to higher internal labour recoveries which also drove lower organisational cost allocations.
3Under budget due to lower than planned personnel and asset purchasing costs.

1.2

Māori and mana whenua partnerships

Whai wāhitanga Māori (tae noa ki te mana whenua)

We have an obligation to ensure the views of mana whenua are heard

What we do and why

We recognise our obligations under the Treaty of Waitangi, and our responsibilities under the Local Government Act 2002, by fostering partnerships with mana whenua (local iwi) and relationships with the wider community.

We ensure the special position of mana whenua Ngāti Toa Rangatira and Taranaki Whānui ki te Upoko o te Ika is acknowledged and reflected in the way we make decisions about the city and its resources. We also ensure their contribution to Wellington’s heritage and future is fully and publicly acknowledged. We work with mana whenua to explore opportunities for the city emerging from settlement of their Treaty of Waitangi claims, and engage with the wider Māori community in particular on issues of specific interest to them.

Other activities include:

Maintaining formal relationships with two mana whenua partners

Facilitating opportunities to contribute to local decision-making

These relationships are fundamental to the achievement of all our outcomes, and in particular contribute to the following outcome:

Outcome
Outcome statement

People-centred city

Promotes inclusiveness, celebrates social and cultural diversity and enables us to respond to the needs and aspirations of Māori

Enhance the visibility of Māori culture and history by telling the story of Wellington’s Māori

Did you know?

Wellington was the first New Zealand city to host a parade to celebrate Te Reo for Te Wiki ō Te Reo Māori in 2016.

Our key achievements

We promoted inclusiveness, celebrated social and cultural diversity enabling us to respond to the needs and aspirations of Māori

We promoted inclusiveness and celebrated our cultural diversity by supporting a number of community events.  For Te Wiki o te Reo Māori in July 2015, we hosted or supported three free events: Toi te Kupu at the City Gallery; Te Awa-a-Taia Roller Disco at Kilbirnie Recreation; and we ensured that Te Raukura the Wharewaka o Pōneke and Pipitea marae were able to take part in Open House – our celebration of Wellington being the capital for 150 years. Te Rā o Waitangi (6 February) at Waitangi Park included local kapa haka performances. Our co-host, the Port Nicholson Block Settlement Trust, opened the Waitangi Day celebrations alongside local elected members. We also supported the Ngā Manu Kōrero regional and national speech contests. 

We supported Te Kāhui Kaiako Māori o te Whanganui-a-Tara (Wellington to Otaki Māori Secondary Schools Teachers Association) who hosted the regional speech contest at Te Papa. At the national speech contest, also hosted in the Wellington region, we supported the attendance of city colleges’ at the Te Rauparaha Arena contest in Porirua.

In September 2015, we supported the Mayor’s Tuia Young Māori Leader, Māia Huriwaka to host her Kāi-a-te Rangatahi event at Te Raukura – the Wharewaka o Pōneke. This event highlighted Māori who are working in challenging industries and celebrated their Māori identity in their work. We also promoted inclusiveness and celebrated our cultural diversity simply by maintaining formal relationships with our two mana whenua partners, and other Māori stakeholders. How we maintained these relationships, and how well we performed are discussed in the section “How we supported ourselves to do well”.

We enhanced the visibility of Māori culture and history by telling the story of Wellington’s Māori

We told the story of Wellington’s Māori by officially naming Whairepo Lagoon. Working with the Port Nicholson Block Settlement Trust the Whairepo Lagoon, adjacent to the Te Raukura the Wharewaka o Pōneke, was officially named ‘Whairepo’. This is the Māori name for the eagle ray that feeds and shelters in the lagoon. The eagle ray is considered kaitiaki (guardian). We celebrated our diversity and improved the visibility of Māori culture by helping with Matariki celebrations, together with a number of organisations. Matariki dates are dependent on the lunar moon and the rising of the Matariki constellation in 2015 occurred throughout June. Over 100 events were held across the region, and we supported the Purapurawhetū at the Opera House (17 June). This was the third successful Matariki Wellington Festival (matarikiwellington.org) with funding from the Regional Amenities Fund. We also welcomed the Welsh to Wellington - dragon meets taniwha. The Welsh rugby team was in town during Matariki and we welcomed them with a pōwhiri at Pipitea marae. Local iwi representative Holden Hohaia said of the visitors, “When we think of Wales and their history and legends compared to our own, they are very similar. It’s wonderful to take a traditional perspective on things. It takes us back to our roots. I think it’s a beautiful symbolism of our two cultures.”

Our performance

Health of our relationship with mana whenua: mana whenua were ‘satisfied’ with Council relationships. This is consistent with the result over the last two years.

Engagement with Māori residents: Māori residents satisfaction with their involvement in decision making didn’t meet its target. Further detail can be found in the chapter titled ‘Measuring our Performance’.

Finances

How it was funded

Services in this activity are funded through general rates.

What it cost 2015/16

Operating
Expenditure
($000)
Actual
2016
Budget
2016
Variance
2016
Actual
2015

1.2.1 Māori and mana whenua Partnerships

Expenditure
274
282
8
202

Revenue
-
-
-
(10)

Net Expenditure
274
282
8
192

Governance – overall summary

Our governance activities were carried out as planned for year one of the LTP. To improve residents’ satisfaction with levels of consultation and involvement in decision making further work is needed through our developing Customer Strategy and new approaches to engagement. Work is also required on the ease of access to information in relation to our services. Our new Digihub initiative has been very successful. Our governance support for Council decision making, elections and Councillors continues to support the achievement of our outcomes.

2 Environment

Taiao

Protecting and enhancing Wellington’s environment

BY THE NUMBERS

24.5 billion litres per day

Total residential and commercial water consumption. A decrease from 26.6 billion litres per day in 2015. 10

99km

Wellington coastline – a variety of sandy beaches and rocky shores and the city enclosed around the harbour. 11

Environment – at a glance

Outcomes
Connected-city
People-centred city
Eco-city
Dynamic-city

Relevant LTP objectives

“Investing to grow” through establishing a programme of major projects that grow the economy and deliver returns on investment;

Investing to maintain and improve existing services, including making infrastructure more resilient and the city’s transport system more efficient;

Increasing the use of existing assets rather than spending on new infrastructure;

Improving asset management practices to better manage risk and the timing of asset replacement; and

Achieving ongoing efficiencies from shared services and improved customer experiences.

LTP key activities

Parks, gardens, beaches and green open space.

Waste reduction and energy conservation.

Water, Wastewater and Stormwater.

Conservation attractions.

Relevant LTP projects
Understanding impact of climate change; Low-Carbon; Our contribution to climate change; Southern landfill; Understanding key infrastructure; Managing harm from stormwater; Interactive children’s garden; Te Motu Kairangi / Miramar peninsula; Our natural capital and Freedom camping.

Operational expenditure
Operational expenditure (as per financial summary).

The quality of Wellington’s environment depends on us all – the Council, residents, business, industries, regional and central government and others. We are a regulator, funder and a provider of services. We work in partnership with local communities, businesses, volunteer organisations and all levels of government.

We are responsible for vital services such as water supply, waste reduction and disposal, and wastewater and stormwater services. These networks are managed by the CCO – Wellington Water Ltd.

We manage our open spaces such as the Town Belt, Outer Green Belt and our city’s beaches and coastline. We fund conservation attractions such as Zealandia and Wellington Zoo. These attractions are also managed as CCOs.

We fund all of these services because they are important to the lives of individual Wellingtonians and to the community as a whole. They ensure that the city is safe and liveable, that basic human needs are met, and they minimise harmful effects from human activity. They also provide recreation opportunities, attract visitors, and make the city a beautiful place to live.

2.1

Gardens, beaches and green open spaces

Ngā wāhi wātea me ngā mahi papa atawhai

We manage the city’s natural environment and gardens in ways that balance conservation and enhancement with opportunities for enjoyment and recreation

What we do and why

Wellington is surrounded by nature. We preserve the city’s unique environment and protect and restore its biodiversity. A high-quality natural environment enhances the city’s unique ‘sense of place’ and provides attractive, safe and accessible spaces for leisure and recreation. Our aim is to enhance enjoyment of these areas.

Our activities include providing:

Over 4,000 hectares of parks, reserves and beaches

200 buildings for community use

365 kilometers of walking and mountain bike tracks

Over 200,000 square meters of amenity bedding and horticultural areas

Boat ramps, wharves, seawalls and slipways

Enhancement and protection of our biodiversity (pest management)

Over the year these activities helped us achieve the following outcomes:

Outcome
Outcome statement

People-centred city

Beaches and coastal areas provide high quality natural spaces for leisure and recreation

The Botanic Gardens enhance Wellington’s unique ‘sense of place’

Community environmental initiatives that we fund improve the quality of our natural environment, and make the city a better place to work, live and play

Protecting biodiversity improves the quality of our environment making the city a better place to work, live and play

A clean inner harbour and waterfront area enhances Wellington’s unique ‘sense of place’, making it a great place to live

Connected-city

By supporting community environmental initiatives we support bringing people together and encourage community spirit

Walkways provide attractive, safe, and accessible opportunities for leisure and recreation, connecting people with each other and the environment

Eco-city

Pest management is important for biodiversity and protects native flora and fauna

Our key achievements

We carried out work in our local parks, open space and our walkways that enhanced Wellington’s unique “sense of place” making Wellington a great place to work, live and play

We improved access and opportunities in parks and open spaces. We acquired the inner city park - Flagstaff Hill - and created a fenced dog exercise area next to Ian Galloway Park.

Did you know?
We own and maintain 188 square metres of open space per capita or 3,833 hectares.

During Parks Week, working with our partners, we ran over 35 events which were attended by over 4000 people. We also supported our horticultural apprentices in a project called Hidden Gardens, in which gardens were planted in “hidden” areas across the city. This very successful event allowed us to support our emerging talent, promote some forgotten corners of the city, and get people out exploring our open spaces. Working with Porirua City Council we made progress on a master plan for the Porirua Outdoor Recreation Park (including Spicer Forest).

We continued to connect, engage and inspire people at “Wellington Gardens”. This is the new name for the Botanic Garden, Otari-Wilton’s Bush, Truby King House and Garden and Bolton Street Cemetery. We rebranded this year so we can better explain, leverage and promote each garden. At the Botanic Garden we began construction of Phase 1 of the Children’s Garden. We also worked with our partners (Nature Connections) to deliver a successful summer season promotion, including a successful trial of food trucks. We held another successful Spring Festival (which included Kids Day Out) and a ‘Meet the Curator’ annual rose pruning demonstration. Visitor numbers were down at the Botanic Garden as a result of visitor counters not working because of insect infestations. With the successful cruise ship season and summer over 2015, visitor numbers are thought to be well over 1.2 million.

At Otari-Wilton’s Bush we hosted the New Zealand Festival’s event ‘For the Birds’ which was attended by over 10,000 people. Our Otari-Wilton’s Bush staff completed a plant collections trip in Marlborough to fill gaps in the Otari collection, and collect seed for the New Zealand Indigenous Flora Seedbank (NZIFSB). We want to recognise and celebrate one of our curators, Karl Noldan, who was placed third in the National Young Horticulturist of the Year competition.

We continued to use Wellington Gardens to educate residents and visitors. Our new educator started providing environmental education to schools and delivering structured school holiday programmes.

Case study

Otari-Wilton’s Bush

Our staff at Otari-Wilton’s Bush are actively contributing to the conservation of New Zealand’s unique plant biodiversity, both locally and nationally. Staff grow endangered plants to be returned to the wild, and collect and deposit seeds into the New Zealand Indigenous Flora Seed Bank (NZIFSB), based in Palmerston North.

Among others, a success story from 2015/2016 was returning a sand daphne (Pimelea actea) to the Whanganui coast in partnership with the Department of Conservation. The endangered status of this sand daphne is nationally critical, the highest category of threat in New Zealand – the same threat category as kākāpō. After 2 years of propagating the plants at Otari we were able to return 31 to Castlecliff, Whanganui. Here the sand daphne is considered extinct after an erosion event destroyed the previous population of plants. We now have a further 200 plants that will be returned to Whanganui in 2016/2017.

Otari staff also contribute annually to the NZIFSB. The aim of the NZIFSB is to collect seeds of New Zealand flora to conserve plant species under threat – for example, from disease, habitat destruction, or predation. Withdrawals are possible for reintroduction of species and for research projects that will help conserve the species. Four of our staff received seed collecting training, facilitated by the Millennium Seed Bank, Kew, England.

Once collected, seeds are deposited and stored in freezers at minus 20° Celsius. Banked seeds can remain viable for decades, if not longer; a typical collection aims for an ideal deposit of 10,000 seeds per species.

Otari-Wilton’s Bush is also hosting seed bank workshops for volunteers who assist with seed cleaning and packaging, and will house a duplicate storage facility for some seeds from the seed bank.

We improved our network of walking and mountain bike tracks. We worked with the Capital BMX club to complete stage 1 of a BMX facility next to Ian Galloway Park, and constructed a new grade 2 bike trail at Karori Park. To promote the capital as a key mountain biking destination, and highlight the main reserves where this activity is popular, we made a series of five mountain biking videos which you can check out on our council website here: http://wellington.govt.nz/recreation/enjoy-the-outdoors/mountain-biking.

We carried out further work to upgrade our Town Belt including work on various trails and signage on Mt Victoria/Matairangi Town Belt and the Town Belt entrance from Hanson Street. We also played an integral role in the passing of the Wellington Town Belt Legislation 2016, which gives us responsibility to manage the Town Belt as a public recreation ground for the people of Wellington. Our most popular walkways are now included in a new brochure, Wellington Walks, which has proven very popular with over 30,000 copies distributed.

Our residents’ perception that the natural environment is appropriately managed and protected has marginally improved since last year.

Measure
2015/16 Actual Performance
2015/16 Target

Residents perception that the natural environment is appropriately managed and protected
79%
Improved performance
N/A

2014/15 Performance

78%

Source: WCC Residents’ Monitoring Survey

We ensured our beaches and coastal areas provide high quality natural spaces for leisure and recreation

We replenished the sand at our very popular Oriental Bay bringing the beach back to its 2003 sand levels.

We funded community environmental initiatives to raise awareness of environmental issues and improve environmental outcomes

We acknowledge we can’t protect the environment on our own and we ran six workshops to develop capacity in our environmental volunteers in the following areas: propagation, seed collection, pest animal trapping, citizen science and health and safety. There has been a significant increase in hours worked by volunteers over the year.

Measure
2015/16 Actual Performance
2015/16 Target

Hours worked by recognised volunteer groups and botanic garden volunteers
45,009
Improved performance
N/A

2014/15 Performance

43,880

Source: WCC Parks and Recreation

We also gave 37,182 plants to the community for planting and the community planted an additional 18,000 plants. We celebrated Arbor Day by planting trees at Spicer Forest with over 160 children from Tawa and Porirua schools.

We did not meet our targets for planting two million trees by 2020 or our integrated pest and weed control on high value biodiversity sites.  We were behind to plant two million trees because we lost our major partner (Greater Wellington Regional Council) who reprioritised their funding. We are now working with new partners and expect to achieve our target over time.

Measure
2015/16 Actual Performance
2015/16 Target

We will plant two million trees by 2020
1,345,773
Performance on target (within 3 percentage points)
1,389,777

2014/15 Performance

New Measure in the Long-term plan

Source: WCC Parks and Recreation

Did you know?

Through our Living City Fund we supported 22 projects with $50,282 of grants ranging from citizen science projects, local community gardens, volunteer groups in parks and reserves, and workshops. We also provided funding support to the Sustainability Trust who through their new Forresters Lane Eco Centre support various programmes around urban agriculture. You can find out more here: http://wellington.govt.nz/services/community-and-culture/funding/council-funds/our-living-city-fund.

We protected our biodiversity improving the quality of our environment making the city a better place to work, live and play

We cleared wilding pines from over 40 hectares of regenerating native vegetation throughout our parks and reserves. We are well below our performance last year for integrated pest and weed control on high value biodiversity sites. This is because we spent the year planning for our animal pest control programmes. Our Annual Plan 2016/17 includes a focus on our biodiversity strategy and action plan. We expect to significantly exceed our biodiversity target in 2016/17.

Measure
2015/16 Actual Performance
2015/16 Target

The percentage of high value biodiversity sites covered by integrated animal pest control or weed control
52%
Performance on target (within 3 percentage points)
55%

2014/15 Performance

67%

Source: WCC Parks and Recreation

We also enhanced Wellington’s biodiversity through our Otari-Wilton’s Bush staff plant collections trip to Marlborough as noted above.

Our first livestream video of wildlife - KakaCam - had massive engagement with over 65,000 views, and a total viewing time of 2.5 years - averaging 21 minutes per view. You can check out the highlights here: http://wellington.govt.nz/services/environment-and-waste/environment/biodiversity/kaka-cam.

Our performance

The quality of our open spaces: We had a successful year in our newly branded Wellington Gardens with well attended events at both the Botanic Gardens and Otari- Wilton’s Bush. We didn’t meet our target for the number of residents who were satisfied with the quality and maintenance of our natural environment. Our performance on this measure was lower than last year, and this will be an area of focus in the future.

The quality of street cleaning services: Resident’s satisfaction with the quality of street cleaning was higher than last year but below our target. While reported satisfaction did not meet our target, this was not reflected in an increase in complaints.

The quality and quantity of work we undertake to protect biodiversity: With the loss of our project partner, Greater Wellington Regional Council, we were behind our target for planting two million trees by 2020. With our new partners we are now on track to achieve this target. We spent the year planning animal pest control programmes, and expect to significantly exceed this biodiversity target in 2016/17.

The success of our investments in conservation attractions: Visitor numbers at the Zoo and Zealandia continue to grow, with a significant increase in visitors at Zealandia.

Further detail can be found in the section titled ‘Measuring our Performance’.

Finances

How it was funded

Services in this activity are funded through a mixture of general rates and user charges.

What it cost 2015/16

Operating
Expenditure
($000)
Actual
2016
Budget
2016
Variance
2016
Actual
2015

2.1.1 Local Parks and Open Spaces ¹

Expenditure
7,851
8,756
905
8,497

Revenue
(501)
(415)
86
(608)

Net Expenditure
7,350
8,341
991
7,889

2.1.2 Botanical Gardens

Expenditure
4,852
4,752
(100)
4,883

Revenue
(408)
(387)
21
(417)

Net Expenditure
4,444
4,365
(79)
4,466

2.1.3 Beaches and Coast Operations ²

Expenditure
1,023
1,409
386
996

Revenue
(53)
(51)
2
(50)

Net Expenditure
970
1,358
388
946

2.1.4 Roads open spaces

Expenditure
8,044
8,147
103
8,204

Revenue
(634)
(695)
(61)
(614)

Net Expenditure
7,410
7,452
42
7,590

2.1.5 Town belts ³

Expenditure
4,491
4,665
174
4,283

Revenue
(358)
(250)
108
(1,425)

Net Expenditure
4,133
4,415
282
2,858

2.1.6 Community environmental initiatives

Expenditure
739
743
4
634

Revenue
(18)
-
18
(1)

Net Expenditure
721
743
22
633

2.1.7 Walkways

Expenditure
532
582
50
569

Revenue
-
-
-
-

Net Expenditure
532
582
50
569

2.1.8 Biodiversity (pest management)

Expenditure
1,673
1,704
31
1,663

Revenue
(32)
(38)
(6)
(76)

Net Expenditure
1,641
1,666
25
1,587

2.1.9 Waterfront Public Space ⁴

Expenditure
5,404
1,737
(3,667)
7,726

Revenue
(6,325)
(301)
6,024
(6,932)

Net Revenue
(921)
1,436
2,357
794

Capital
Expenditure
($000)
Actual
2016
Budget*
2016
Variance
2016
Actual
2015

2.1.1 Local Parks and Open Spaces ⁵

Expenditure
1,368
1,089
(279)
1,116

Unspent portion of budget to be carried forward
N/A
702
-
N/A

2.1.2 Botanical Gardens

Expenditure
405
405
-
681

Unspent portion of budget to be carried forward
N/A
28
-
N/A

2.1.3 Beaches and Coast Operations

Expenditure
242
227
(15)
613

Unspent portion of budget to be carried forward
-
-
-
-

2.1.5 Town belts ⁶

Expenditure
197
115
(82)
106

Unspent portion of budget to be carried forward
N/A
20
-
N/A

2.1.7 Walkways

Expenditure
565
550
(15)
624

Unspent portion of budget to be carried forward
N/A
-
-
N/A

*The capital expenditure budget consists of the LTP amount plus the carry forward from 2014/15.
1Under budget due to savings in depreciation on park buildings.
2Under budget mainly as grant funding for the Lyall Bay Surf Club was not paid as the club is still fundraising for their new building.
3Under budget due to unbudgeted vested asset revenue and savings in interest costs.
4Under budget due to favourable revaluation of waterfront property.
5Under budget due to the timing of spend on the Children’s Garden project at the Botanic Gardens.
6Over budget due to unbudgeted spend on landscaping works at the halfway house which were funded through monies received from the electricity industry for use of Council land.

2.2

Waste reduction and energy conservation

Whakaiti para, hangarua me te pena pūnga

Sustainability is about meeting our needs now without burdening future generations

What we do and why

A sustainable city uses resources efficiently, re-uses or recycles them, and only commits them to landfills as a last resort. Sustainability is about reducing the amount of energy we use and using clean energy from renewable sources. It is also about promoting a culture that values the environment and encourages pro-environment behaviour of everyone who lives, works or plays there.

We manage and monitor:

Landfill operations including composting waste at the Southern Landfill

Domestic recycling and rubbish collection

The environmental impacts of closed landfills

Programmes to educate residents to manage and minimise waste effectively

Energy efficiency and conservation

Greenhouse gas emissions

Over the year these activities contribute to the following outcomes:

Outcome
Outcome statement

People-centred city

Collaboration between the Council and the community to reduce waste, and increase recycling, promotes community ownership of the sustainable management of the environment

Eco-city

Reduced waste, increased waste recycling, and organic composting, minimises the use of landfills and promotes sustainable management of the environment

Our key achievements

We collaborated with the community to reduce waste, and increase recycling, to promote community ownership of sustainable management of the environment

To reduce waste and increase recycling we developed an Event Recycling Guide for recycling at public events. We also now provide 15 event recycling bins (and hoods) that are available for free at public events. These bins will help reduce the cost of recycling services at public events and use the national recycling colours: yellow for recycling, red for landfill, green for organics and blue for glass. Already used at a series of Island Bay events, feedback from residents and event organisers was positive.

Measure
2015/16 Actual Performance
2015/16 Target

Percentage of residents satisfied with recycling services
84%
Performance on target (within 3 percentage points)
85%

2014/15 Performance

86%

Source: WCC Residents’ Monitoring Survey

Measure
2015/16 Actual Performance
2015/16 Target

Percentage of residents satisfied with waste collection services
85%
Did not achieve
90%

2014/15 Performance

85%

Source: WCC Residents’ Monitoring Survey

We reduced waste, increased waste recycling and organic composting, to minimise the use of landfills and promote sustainable management of the environment

We transferred our successful seed-funded ‘start-up’ Kai to Compost Food Waste Collection Service to EnviroWaste. This allowed us to better meet the increasing demand for food waste diversion, and extended collection boundaries to Porirua, Upper Hutt, and beyond. Since the transfer of ownership in December 2015, our Composting Operations experienced a 10% increase in the volume of food waste.

Food waste collected from businesses in our city continues to be processed through our Capital Compost operation, at the Southern Landfill, with EnviroWaste paying disposal fees. To assist the commercialisation of the above ‘start-up’, EnviroWaste will be subsidised through to 2017 provided they meet food waste volume targets.

To minimise waste, our Waste Minimisation Seed Fund offers funding of up to $70,000 per year. The fund supports residents becoming leaders in the development of innovative solutions for reducing waste volumes in landfills. The fund targets priority waste streams, reduction in harm to the environment, and improved efficiency of resource use. It does this by supporting new initiatives that complement and enhance existing programmes or address gaps or opportunities. Over the year funding was approved for six medium/ large scale projects including Wellington Hospital and Cuba Street waste audits, the NZ Post corporate uniform end-of-life initiative, the Newtown and Island Bay Festivals, and CupaDupa. Funding was also approved for smaller projects including a play centre compost system, development of a website by a high school to encourage reuse of unwanted local construction waste, and an educational compost programme for early childhood schools. The fund comes from landfill levies collected by the Ministry for the Environment and is consistent with Wellington’s Waste Management and Minimisation Plan (2011–2017).

Measure
2015/16 Actual Performance
2015/16 Target

Waste diverted from landfill
17,431 tonnes
Improved performance
16,500

2014/15 Performance

18,048

Source: WCC Waste Operations

To reduce food waste we continued to work with councils in the region on a programme developed under the regional Waste Education Strategy - the Love Food Hate Waste Prevention programme. The programme focuses on food waste, an area considered by all councils as important to manage. Launched on 1 June 2016, the 3-year programme aims to educate households about how to reduce food waste, save money, and have fun at the same time. The project is funded by Councils and the Ministry for the Environment.

Did you know?

On average Kiwi families throw out $560 of avoidable food waste every year, totalling $872 m nationally! Every year 20 million loaves of bread are thrown out by households alone! Find out more at LoveFoodHateWaste.co.nz

We focussed on energy efficiency for households and businesses to reduce costs and greenhouse emissions

We launched the ‘Wellington 2050 Energy Calculator’ and are the first city in New Zealand and the second city in the world, following Beijing, to launch one. The calculator allows Wellingtonians to explore how energy and transport choices will shape the city’s carbon footprint, and inform the update of our Climate Change Action Plan.

We contributed to the warmth, health, and energy efficiency of Wellington homes through ‘Warm up Wellington’ – a partnership (with Capital and Coast DHB, Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA), Hutt Mana Charitable Trust, and the Sustainability Trust) that supplements the Government’s Warm Up New Zealand home insulation scheme. Over the year, ‘Warm Up Wellington’ insulated 167 homes in Wellington City. Our Wellington Home Energy Saver scheme provides homeowners with free home energy assessments, a comprehensive report on the energy performance of their home, and a list of personalised recommendations and discounts on a range of energy efficiency products. We carried out 603 home energy assessments over the year, and in response home occupants accessed $11,283.13 in subsidies through 262 energy efficient products.

We launched the ‘Smart Buildings Challenge to assist commercial building owners to manage and reduce their energy use. The Challenge, a partnership with EECA, Microsoft, and the Energy Management Association of New Zealand, aims to significantly reduce energy consumption in Wellington’s commercial building sector. It does this by harnessing the collective commitment of Wellington’s building owners to reduce costs and increase sustainability performance. The Challenge supports the goal of achieving a minimum 10% reduction in energy use (electricity and gas) and we achieved NABERSNZ certification over the course of the challenge. We entered our Central Library Building into the challenge. The Challenge exceeded expectations in terms of the total floor area of the buildings involved and market penetration but did not meet its target of signing up 25 buildings. Twenty buildings signed up over the course of the year with one pulling out when it was sold. We therefore decided to focus on the buildings already in the challenge before bringing more on-board.

We continued to help Wellington schools access solar array systems to reduce their energy bills and educate students about renewable energy. We completed our 16th SchoolGen school solar installation in partnership with Genesis Energy during the year.

We developed partnerships and encouraged policies for renewable energy

We ran a Low Carbon Challenge that brought together Wellington’s innovators to develop initiatives to reduce emissions. Formally known as the Smart Energy challenge, a record 13 applications were made, and six teams selected to continue through to the incubator programme. Three of these six teams will qualify for match-funding of $15,000 from us.

We achieved Certified Emissions Management and Reduction Scheme (CEMARS) accreditation. This means we can have confidence that the data we collect is accurate and comprehensive and a precise measure of how we are performing. We can now start to measure our energy and emissions reduction progress against our 2015/16 audit or ‘baseline year’ and make more informed decisions about our work programmes. We are the third council in New Zealand to have attained CEMARS accreditation after Kapiti Coast and Dunedin City.

We consulted on and produced the Low Carbon Capital Plan 2016-2018 which contains three pillars of action; greening Wellington’s growth, changing the way we move, and leading by example. The plan sets new interim targets for the City and our corporate greenhouse gas emissions. The targets are based on newly developed Wellington specific tools and data. The target retains the 2050 target of an 80% reduction in emissions for both Wellington City and Wellington City Council.

Internationally, cities have emerged as major players in climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts. We are keen to learn from best international practice and over the year were accepted into the C40’s international ‘Compact of Mayors’ pledge to reduce city-wide greenhouse gas emissions. The Compact of Mayors is the world’s largest cooperative effort among Mayors and city leaders to share information and experiences in order to reduce emissions, track progress and prepare for the impacts of climate change. Our acceptance into the Rockefeller Foundations 100 Resilient Cities (100RC) programme, and our appointment of a Chief Resilience Officer, are also significant events. Adapting to cope with the effects of climate change is a key area of focus for the Resilience Strategy.

Did you know?

In conjunction with Greater Wellington Regional Council, we updated the Wellington City and Region Community Scale Greenhouse Gas Inventory 2000/01 to 2014/15. The results show that between 2000/01 and 2014/15 the gross greenhouse gas emissions generated within Wellington City, or as a result of activity within the area, have reduced by 2.1 % and our net emissions by 1.9 %.

Our performance

The quality of waste reduction and recycling services: There was a significant improvement, from last year, in the percentage of residents who regularly recycle, and we exceeded the target we set for the year. We exceeded our target for the amount of waste diverted from the landfill, but this figure is lower than last year.

The quality of our waste disposal services: Our residents’ satisfaction with waste collection services was the same as last year but below our target. Energy sourced from the Southern Landfill was slightly more than last year but also below our target. There are many possible reasons for this including a drop in general waste going to landfill, a higher proportion of food waste being diverted from landfill and lower levels of rainfall.

The quantity of our energy consumption and emissions: There has been an increase in our corporate energy use around our swimming pools to reflect the increased size of the Keith Spry Pool and re-opening of Tawa pool. However overall there has been a decrease in our energy consumption.

Further detail can be found in the section ‘Measuring our Performance’.

Finances

How it was funded

Services in this activity are funded through a mixture of general rates, user charges and other income.

What it cost 2015/16

Operating
Expenditure
($000) 
Actual
2016
Budget
2016
Variance
2016
Actual
2015

2.2.1 Waste minimisation, disposal and recycling management ¹

Expenditure
12,869
12,836
(33)
12,663

Revenue
(14,309)
(12,829)
1,480
(13,308)

Net Revenue
(1,440)
7
1,447
(645)

2.2.2 Closed landfills aftercare

Expenditure
477
522
45
368

Revenue
-
-
-
-

Net Expenditure
477
522
45
368

2.2.3 Energy efficiency and conservation

Expenditure
315
282
(33)
-

Revenue
(82)
(46)
36
-

Net Expenditure
233
236
3
-

Capital
Expenditure
($000)
Actual
2016
Budget*
2016
Variance
2016
Actual
2015

2.2.1 Waste minimisation, disposal and recycling management ²

Expenditure
723
753
30
781

Unspent portion of budget to be carried forward
N/A
545
-
N/A

* The capital expenditure budget consists of the LTP amount plus the carry forward from 2014/15.
1 Under budget due to higher landfill fees through high contaminated soil and special waste volumes, higher than budgeted sales of yellow rubbish bags and favourable sales from recyclable materials.
2 Under budget due to delays in Stage 4 of the Southern Landfill improvements. Currently in the design phase.

Our 3 waters – water, wastewater and stormwater

We contract Wellington Water Ltd – to manage our water and drainage assets. They are tasked to deliver clean and safe drinking water, collection, disposal and treatment of wastewater and a collection and disposal of stormwater.

Water Supply

Asset descriptions
Length (m) /
Quantity (no)

Pipes
1,188,140

Pump stations
33

Reservoirs
69

Valves
30,270

Service valves (incl.FIRE)
52,516

Hydrants
8,048

2.3

Water

Wai

Clean, safe water is essential for residents’ quality of life and wellbeing

Wellington Water Ltd:

Was established in 2014, through a merger between Greater Wellington Regional Council Water Supply Group and Capacity Infrastructure Services (who were originally owned by Hutt, and Wellington City Councils). The five local authorities are joint and equal owners, with each local authority owning its respective water, stormwater and wastewater assets, and in control of the level and standard of services provided to customers. The services provided include provision of high quality, safe and environmentally sustainable services, contracted service delivery and asset management planning.

Relevant Council outcomes:

People-centred city
A reliable and adequate supply of clean and safe water is crucial for the health, well-being and prosperity of all residents

Connected-city
A reliable and adequate supply of clean and safe water is a core requirement of a 21st century connected city

Key activities:

Ensuring high quality water is available at all times for drinking and other household and business uses

Maintaining 80 reservoirs, 34 pumping stations, 8,000 hydrants and 1,250 kilometers of pipes

Key achievements

We continued work providing a reliable and adequate supply of clean and safe water which is crucial for the health, wellbeing and prosperity of all residents

We renewed approximately 9 kilometers of water pipes in Tawa, Johnsonville, Khandallah, Karori, Crofton Downs and Northland. These renewals help us improve the reliability of the network by reducing service outages. We have completed all forward designs for our 2016/17 renewals and upgrade programmes, and tendered out a significant amount of renewal and upgrade works

Our new 2200m³ Melrose reservoir was completed. Replacing an existing reservoir, this new reservoir improves water availability and our seismic resilience

We completed seismic upgrades at the Linden Reservoir and Lyndhurst pump stations. These upgrades improve the resilience of the network. Work also started on upgrading the Huntingdon Street pump station

We awarded a tender for seismic strengthening on the Tawa Reservoir, with construction starting in the 2016/17 year. The reservoir is being strengthened to improve water retention after a significant seismic event

Other emergency preparedness includes: designing auto-shut valves for the Granada and Mt Kaukau reservoirs, and installation of three new 25,000 litre emergency water tanks. There are now 38 emergency water tanks at 35 locations in suburbs around Wellington

We started upgrading 640 meters of water mains in Cecil Road, Wadestown in order to meet firefighting standards. This work will be completed in 2016/17

We continued work providing a reliable and adequate supply of clean and safe water – a core requirement of a 21st century connected city

In 2015 we worked on a business case for water supply resilience. The process involved: developing and agreeing investment objectives, establishing levels of service, developing and assessing options (in consultation with stakeholders), and identifying possible projects. The purpose of the business case is to confirm the concept and develop high level cost estimates for an investment plan

At the same time we set up a regional resilience group which includes the NZTA, Wellington Water Ltd, Fire Service and Wellington Electricity. This group is developing a cross-infrastructure resilience investment story. We are also talking with critical customers who will require special attention or will assist others in recovering from a large event in Wellington

Performance

We continue to fully comply with New Zealand drinking water standards (and its monitoring regime) and maintain the water supply quality gradings from the Ministry of Health. The quality of our potable water is monitored for indicators of contamination and chlorinated to reduce the risk. There are procedures in place to ensure the quality of water supplied and to deal with any quality issues. Contractors who work on the network also have quality control procedures to reduce the risk of contamination. The percentage of real water loss from our reticulated network continued to be below our target. Our response time for urgent and non-urgent call outs indicated customers are being well looked after. We received 8822 urgent and non-urgent requests over the year, compared to 8553 the year before. There were a low number of unplanned supply cuts in the network. Our customers were satisfied with our service with their satisfactions levels above our target. These measures can be found in the section ‘Measuring our Performance’.

Source: Wellington Water Ltd

Finances

How it was funded

Services in this activity are funded through targeted rates.

What it cost 2015/16

Operating
Expenditure
($000)
Actual
2016
Budget
2016
Variance
2016
Actual
2015

2.3.1 Water Network ¹

Expenditure
23,511
23,393
(118)
22,798

Revenue
(1,709)
(35)
1,674
(1,012)

Net Expenditure
21,802
23,358
1,556
21,786

2.3.2 Water Collection and Treatment

Expenditure
14,922
14,932
10
14,318

Revenue
(3)
-
3
(3)

Net Expenditure
14,919
14,932
13
14,315

Capital
Expenditure
($000)
Actual
2016
Budget*
2016
Variance
2016
Actual
2015

2.3.1 Water Network ²

Expenditure
14,927
15,752
825
13,266

Unspent portion of budget to be carried forward
N/A
-
-
N/A

* The capital expenditure budget consists of the LTP amount plus the carry forward from 2014/15.
1 Under budget due to savings in depreciation and the acquisition of water assets vested to Council.
2 Under budget due to delays across the work programme including the Cecil Road watermain where the proposed contractor was not available as scheduled.

Case study

Melrose reservoir increases city’s resilience

In May 2016, the valve was opened on a new, seismically resilient reservoir serving the suburb of Melrose.

The reservoir cost $3.5 million and took 16 months to build. It holds 2.2 million litres of water, making it two and a half times bigger than its 1910 predecessor. Construction involved demolishing the old reservoir; excavating about 1500 cubic metres of earth; and installing underfloor drainage, the reinforced concrete floor slab and walls, and a pre-cast concrete roof. The reservoir is buried to minimise its impact on the landscape.

Melrose reservoir increases the amount of the city’s water supply held in seismically-strengthened reservoirs to almost 70%. More than 80% of those reservoirs have automatic shut-off valves, meaning they won’t empty if the water network gets damaged. This is all part of an ongoing programme to make Wellington’s water storage facilities and supply network stronger, safer and better able to meet the needs of a growing population.

Melrose reservoir by the numbers:

16 months’ construction

$3.5 million

25 metres long, 17 metres wide and 7 metres deep

Built to withstand a one-in-1000 year earthquake

Holds 2.2 million litres – two and a half times bigger than the reservoir it replaced

2.4

Wastewater

Parawai

Maintaining public health and safety and is essential to the city’s environmental wellbeing

Relevant Council outcomes:

People-centred city
A safe and reliable wastewater network and treatment facility provides protection against public health risks

Eco-city
A safe and reliable wastewater network and treatment facility provides protection against environmental harm

Key activities

The city’s sewage collection, treatment and disposal is in line with resource consent conditions

Key achievements

We continued to work to ensure a safe and reliable wastewater network and treatment facility protects against public health risks

We replaced damaged wastewater and stormwater pipes in Cuba Street. Work to replace damaged wastewater and stormwater pipes in Molesworth Street was delayed by contaminated ground, however we are back on track and making good progress towards completion in 2016/17

We renewed four wastewater pump stations in Chaffers Street, Ferry Street, Boscobel Lane and Wakefield Road, improving their reliability

Our programme to investigate and evaluate inflow and infiltration reduction in the Trelissick Park (Kaiwharawhara) catchment continued. Over the year we surveyed approximately 1088 properties, and finalised their reports.Inflow and infiltration reduction investigations will continue in 2016/17 focusing on Karori and Tawa

Pollution investigations have been on-going in seven catchments that exceeded water quality thresholds. These investigations identified faults that were remedied, resulting in minor improvements in water quality in certain catchments

We continued to ensure we have a safe and reliable wastewater network and treatment facility that provides protection against environmental harm

We renewed 4.3 kilometres of wastewater pipes in Brooklyn, Island Bay, Karori, Kelburn, Khandallah, Lyall Bay, Miramar, Mt Cook, Mt Victoria, Ngaio, Te Aro, Vogeltown and Wadestown. These renewals reduce sewage leaking into the stormwater system and prevents discharges ofsewerage into streams and the sea. We achieved a reduction in bypass discharges from Moa Point WWTP in 2015/16

Performance

Our wastewater network was of a high quality with few reticulation incidents and our response time was well within our targets. In relation to our response times we received 904 service requests compared to 1095 last year. The majority of our customers were satisfied with our service and we exceeded our target. We are working on capacity and demand issues across the network to help identify dry weather wastewater overflows. These measures can be found in the section ‘Measuring our Performance’.

Source: Wellington Water Ltd

Finances

How it was funded

Services in this activity are funded through a mixture of general and targeted rates.

What it cost 2015/16

Operating
Expenditure
($000)
Actual
2016
Budget
2016
Variance
2016
Actual
2015

2.4.1 Sewage collection and disposal network ¹

Expenditure
18,833
19,157
324
19,348

Revenue
(1,911)
(615)
1,296
(986)

Net Expenditure
16,922
18,542
1,620
18,362

2.4.2 Sewage treatment ²

Expenditure
22,599
22,654
55
21,333

Revenue
(1,583)
(618)
965
(1,833)

Net Expenditure
21,016
22,036
1,020
19,500

Capital
Expenditure
($000)
Actual
2016
Budget*
2016
Variance
2016
Actual
2015

2.4.1 Sewage collection and disposal network ³

Expenditure
10,872
10,480
(392)
7,959

Unspent portion of budget to be carried forward
N/A
-
-
N/A

* The capital expenditure budget consists of the LTP amount plus the carry forward from 2014/15.
1 Under budget due to reduced unplanned maintenance following a drier than usual year and the acquisition of waste water assets vested to Council.
2 Under budget due to savings in Wastewater treatment plant costs owing to lower flows and management fees.
3 Over budget due to additional labour costs and an early completion of the Jackson Street waste water renewal.

2.5

Stormwater

Wai-ua

The stormwater network keeps people and property safe from flooding

Wellington Water Ltd manages the following assets

Stormwater

Asset descriptions
Length (m) /
Quantity (no)

Pipes
795,046

Manholes
19,380

Pump stations
2

Tunnels
3,083

Relevant Council outcomes
People-centred city | A safe and reliable stormwater network, and effective maintenance and operation programmes, prevents avoidable disruptions to community living, minimises risk of injury and damage to property from stormwater
Connected-city | A safe and reliable stormwater network, and effective maintenance and operation programmes, reduces the risk of avoidable surface flooding and environmental damage that may affect transport routes

Key activities

The maintenance, renewal and upgrade of the stormwater network to protect from flooding

Key achievements

We continued to work on a safe and reliable stormwater network, and effective maintenance and operation programmes, to prevent avoidable disruptions to community living, minimises risk of injury and damage to property from stormwater

We carried out a number of urgent replacements this year including Porritt Avenue where we upgraded a brick culvert located under several properties. Several Karori Stream bridge crossings were also upgraded to align with the latest building code standards

We continued to develop Integrated Catchment Management Plans (ICMPs) for five catchment areas, based on the effects of flooding and contamination on the catchment’s coastal environment. These plans are prepared as condition of resource consent. We made progress on one of these five plans – the Lambton Harbour catchment plan. The aims of Lambton Harbour ICMP are to: prepare detailed management plans to meet the levels of service required for the city’s stormwater activities, identify management options to minimise catchment issues, and identify remedial methods for issues identified

We continued to work on a safe and reliable stormwater network, and effective maintenance and operation programmes, to reduce the risk of avoidable surface flooding and environmental damage that may affect transport routes

We renewed approximately 750 meters of stormwater pipes, these renewals improved the reliability of the network by reducing service outages and flooding

We completed detailed investigations and design for the upcoming repair of a steel culvert located under 15 meters of fill in South Karori. Repair work on this culvert will be completed in the 2016/17

We progressed design options for the repair of Council drains lost in the land slip at Breton Grove, Kingston. We are continuing to work with residents to provide a mutually agreeable solution

Performance

We had few stormwater pipeline blockages and our network performed better than target. Customer satisfaction with stormwater management declined. Our monitored beaches and sites were clean and suitable for recreation use. In terms of our response times we received 1518 requests over the year compared to 1240 last year. We maintained resource consent compliance. These measures can be found in the section ‘Measuring our Performance’.

Source: Wellington Water Ltd

Did you know?

We, along with Wellington Water Ltd, Te Runanga Toa Rangatira and the community are part of GWRC Te Awarua o Porirua Whaitua process. The Whaitua Committee is responsible for developing a Whaitua Implementation Programme (WIP) which will outline regulatory and non-regulatory proposals for integrating the management of land-development and urban-water-cycle-services at a catchment level. Wellington Water Ltd has undertaken a high level review of the stormwater, wastewater and water supply networks to assess their potential to support proposed growth and intensification within the catchment. Issues have been identified that could restrict urban development and result in further contamination of aquatic environments. A master plan for upgrade of the drainage infrastructure is being developed by Wellington Water Ltd. While the upgrade costs are likely to be significant it is recognised as being essential to support the growth agenda of both Wellington and Porirua City, as well as helping realise the values of Te Awarua-o-Porirua.

In 2012 we, Porirua City Council, GWRC, Te Runanga Toa Rangatira and other key agencies with interests in Porirua Harbour (and catchment) adopted the Te Awarua-o-Porirua Harbour and Catchment Strategy and Action Plan. Te Awarua-o-Porirua (Porirua Harbour) is currently exposed to a range of existing impacts from urban activity, which result in damage to the environment. Without mitigation, future development has potential to hasten this current degradation. This on-going partnership aims to reduce sediment, reduce pollutants and restore the ecology of Porirua harbour.

Finances

How it was funded

Services in this activity are funded through a mixture of general and targeted rates.

What it cost 2015/16

Operating Expenditure ($000)
Actual
2016
Budget
2016
Variance
2016
Actual
2015

2.5.1 Stormwater management ¹

Expenditure
16,936
17,587
651
16,526

Revenue
(3,137)
(146)
2,991
(922)

Net Expenditure
13,799
17,441
3,642
15,604

Capital
Expenditure
($000)
Actual
2016
Budget*
2016
Variance
2016
Actual
2015

2.5.1 Stormwater management ²

Expenditure
4,877
5,055
178
4,821

Unspent portion of budget to be carried forward
N/A
600
-
N/A

* The capital expenditure budget consists of the LTP amount plus the carry forward from 2014/15.
1 Under budget due to lower interest and sump cleaning costs as well as the acquisition of stormwater assets vested to Council.
2 Under budget due to delays in the work programme. A $0.600m carry forward to 2016/17 will be requested for the uncompleted Molesworth Street project.

Did you know?

We have created a post-event response team which is expected to provide improved customer service after an unexpected event such as a flood. This multi-skilled team is drawn from across the business and depends on information from our client councils and other sources to determine the best response for our customers.

2.6

Conservation attractions

Ngā painga kukume Papa Atawha

Nature is one of Wellington’s biggest attractions

Wellington Zoo Trust

Established in 2003 the Trust manages the Zoo’s assets and operations for the benefit of residents and visitors.

Relevant Council outcomes

People-centred city
Facilities such as Wellington Zoo play important conservation roles protecting native and exotic flora and fauna

Eco-city
These are activities that inform and educate residents and visitors about conservation. They tell a story about our past, our special wildlife and native and exotic flora and fauna

Key activities

The Zoo Trust:

Develops, manages and plans animal species management programmes

Promotes species conservation

Acquires additional plant and animal species

Supports and complements the conservation and learning activities undertaken by other organisations

Promotes and coordinates the raising of funds to assist the management, administration, maintenance, planning, promotion and further development of Wellington Zoo

Manages, administers, plans, develops, maintains, operates and promotes Wellington Zoo as a zoological park for the benefit of the Wellington community and as an attraction for visitors to Wellington

Educates the community by building an awareness of plant and animal species and the actions required to promote conservation

Key achievements

Facilities such as Wellington Zoo play important conservation roles protecting native and exotic flora and fauna

Saving animals in the wild: the Zoo supports nine field conservation projects locally and globally for endangered or critically endangered species. It provides 5.68% of its operational funding directly to field conservation (the international zoo benchmark is currently 3%)

These are activities that inform and educate residents and visitors about conservation. They tell a story about our past, our special wildlife and native and exotic flora and fauna

Connecting people with animals: A record number of people visited the Zoo during the year. There were 11,413 school visits and 3,677 people had ‘animal close encounters’ experiences with Zoo animals

Leading the way: the Zoo maintained its carboNZero certification and achieved Zoo Aquarium Association Australasia Animal Welfare Accreditation

People love and support the Zoo: the Zoo achieved 92% of its annual targets and enhanced its volunteer programme this year

Performance Information

The Zoo achieved its admission targets for the year and numbers are above last years. This measure can be found in the section ‘Measuring our Performance’.

Source: Wellington Zoo Trust

Council Controlled Organisation – Zealandia

We contracted Zealandia, to manage the Karori Sanctuary

Zealandia

The Karori Sanctuary Trust (trading as Zealandia) is an incorporated society, a charitable trust, and a not-for profit organisation. Zealandia is a community-driven eco-restoration project, education facility, and visitor attraction. The 225 hectare sanctuary is 10 minutes drive from central Wellington, and is the world’s first fully-fenced urban eco-sanctuary. Zealandia is a safe haven for some of New Zealand’s rarest native animals.

Relevant Council outcomes

People-centred city
Facilities such as Zealandia play important conservation roles protecting native and exotic flora and fauna12

Eco-city
These are activities that inform and educate residents and visitors about conservation. They tell a story about our past, our special wildlife and native and exotic flora and fauna

Key activities

The Trust

Carries out education and research into all matters pertaining to the conservation and restoration of New Zealand’s natural heritage and in particular to restore representative examples of New Zealand’s natural heritage

Establishes and maintains a secure native wildlife sanctuary in the Karori Reservoir

Restores the reservoir area ecosystem as closely as practicable to its presumed pre-human state but allowing for construction of specific habitats to enhance its diversity and conservation values

Provides facilities for recreation and tourism activities

Seeks and fosters community support and participation

Manages and manipulates such ecosystems as may be necessary to maintain requisite populations

Key achievements

Facilities such as Zealandia play important conservation roles protecting native and exotic flora and fauna

The first translocation in 5 years was completed in February 2016 with the reintroduction of Spotted Skink back to the valley

These are activities that inform and educate residents and visitors about conservation. They tell a story about our past, our special wildlife and native and exotic flora and fauna

Sirocco the ambassador kakapo visited for 6 weeks, generating local, national, and international promotion and media coverage

The Trust celebrated the sanctuary’s 20th Anniversary since its establishment in 1995 and welcomed 125,849 visitors for the year to 30 June 2016

Performance Information

Zealandia’s visitation exceeded 100,000 for the first time in its history and there was also an increase in education visits

Source: Zealandia

Finances

How it was funded

Services in this activity are funded through general rates.

What it cost 2015/16

Operating
Expenditure
($000)
Actual
2016
Budget
2016
Variance
2016
Actual
2015

2.6.1 Conservation visitor attractions

Expenditure
6,384
6,459
75
6,104

Revenue
-
-
-
-

Net Expenditure
6,384
6,459
75
6,104

Capital
Expenditure
($000)
Actual
2016
Budget*
2016
Variance
2016
Actual
2015

2.6.1 Conservation visitor attractions

Expenditure
2,725
2,659
(66)
2,677

Unspent portion of budget to be carried forward
N/A
140
-
N/A

* The capital expenditure budget consists of the LTP amount plus the carry forward from 2014/15.

Environment – overall summary

Generally speaking we carried out the activities planned for this activity area in year one of the LTP. Our capital works programmes experienced delays, some of which were a result of events beyond our control. We had a number of successes with our water, wastewater and stormwater services. These successes are reflected in our water and wastewater customer satisfaction ratings and the improved ratings of monitored beaches used for recreation. The Zoo and Zealandia continue to be successful. In many areas, progress has been made through our activities in this area to the achievement of our outcomes.

10 Wellington Water Ltd

11 WCC Wellington City Profile – Key Facts about the City

12 Zealandia eliminates as many exoctic flora and fauna species as it can from the sanctuary to ensure exotic trespasers don’t compromise the native sanctuary.

3 Economic Development

Whanaketanga ōhanga

Promoting the city’s competitive advantages in order to enhance the quality of life

BY THE NUMBERS

2.1%

Wellington City average annual GDP growth
which compares to 1.9% nationwide.13

7

Major event venues that are just 5 minutes’ walk apart. 14

$36.5m

Contribution to Wellington’s economy during 2015/16 from major events supported by Council. This compares to $29.9 m in 2014/15. 15

Economic development – at a glance

Outcomes
Connected-city
People-centred city
Eco-city
Dynamic-city

Relevant LTP objectives

“Investing to grow” through establishing a programme of major projects that grow the economy and deliver returns on investment;

Investing to maintain and improve existing services, including making infrastructure more resilient and the city’s transport system more efficient;

Increasing the use of existing assets rather than spending on new infrastructure; and

Improving asset management practices to better manage risk and the timing of asset replacement.

LTP key activities
City promotions and business support.

Relevant LTP projects
Investing for growth; Longer airport runway; Central city tech hub; Film and screen productions; and Joined-up regional approach.

Operational expenditure
Operational expenditure (as per financial summary).

We attract and support business activity, market Wellington to tourists from New Zealand and overseas, and own and operate performance venues and conference facilities either through WREDA or in partnership with WREDA. Working with others we also promote business, education and cultural links through sister city relationships, and provide free weekend parking in the CBD.

We fund these activities to attract and retain talent, grow the tourism spend and economic returns from events, and increase inward investment and exports.

These activities make Wellington a more vibrant place to live and improve residents’ quality of life, prosperity, identity and the opportunities available to them.

Case study

Collider

A technology hub for Wellington was one of our “8 Big Ideas”, and the business case was endorsed by our Economic Growth and Arts Committee in April 2015. Collider was officially launched by Prime Minister John Key in November 2015.

Collider is a partnership between Wellington City Council and BizDojo. It consists of BizDojo’s co-working space at 115 Tory Street, and Collider’s programme of activities. The Council’s contribution towards the tech hub will be up to $3.2 million over 3 years, and will be used to fund the non-commercial elements of the tech hub.

The tech hub was established to connect high-tech, rapid-growth ventures, investors, social enterprises, international visitors, tertiary institutions, government and established businesses working on new ideas. It is a place for Wellington's innovative businesses in the tech sector to call home – whether through locating or showcasing their business there, attending or hosting events, or seeking resources and support to help their businesses be more successful.

Partnerships in relation to the hub have now been formalised between BizDojo and CreativeHQ, Xero, Deloitte and various other service providers. For example, the StepUp Mentorship Programme was launched in March as a collaborative venture between BizDojo and Xero to provide guidance around growth to a number of small businesses in Wellington.

Events and programmes held have included international speakers such as Adriana Gascoigne (CEO, Girls in Tech), Tristan Pollock (named in the 2015 Forbes 30-under-30 list and a Silicon Valley based co-founder and entrepreneur), Anthony McGuire (Head of Global Partnerships at Facebook), and Savannah Peterson (named in this year’s Forbes 30-under-30 list).

3.1

City promotions and business support

Ngā whakatairanga tāone me ngā āwhina pakihi

By supporting city promotions and major events, we underscore Wellington’s reputation as a great place to live and visit

What we do and why

Wellington’s economic prosperity is closely linked to residents’ quality of life. Prosperity provides the resources for businesses, the Council, and individuals, to contribute to the vibrancy of the city and invest in its future development.

Our promotions and business support activities are closely linked to WREDA’s work. Working with other institutions in the region ensures that we use our resources effectively.

Our activities include:

Tourism promotion (WREDA)

Events attraction and support

Performance and convention venues (WREDA)

Retail support (free weekend parking)

Regional and external relations

Grants and creative workforce

Attracting businesses and talent to Wellington (in partnership with WREDA)

Sustaining city vibrancy

Over the year these activities contribute to the following outcomes:

Outcome
Outcome statement

People-centred city

Promotion of the city as an attractive place to live and do business, works to attract talent to the city and attract tens of thousands of visitors to the city every year (WREDA)

The City Growth Fund and economic grants support the attraction and retention of talented people, and support the creative business sector in Wellington

Major projects (funding for possible implementation) will promote the city as an attractive place to do business and attract visitors to the city

International relations improve access to international markets and provide local businesses with new opportunities

Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) – vibrant suburban centres make Wellington an attractive place to live and help form a sense of community

Connected-city

Ensuring the city has a presence internationally will be vital to attracting investment, talent, visitors and jobs (WREDA )

Major projects - improving direct access internationally will provide local businesses with new opportunities to access large markets

Dynamic-city

Attracting talent, investment, visitors and jobs will be critical to growing the economy and ensuring Wellington remains vibrant and retains its competitive advantage (WREDA)

Our key achievements

Our partnership with WREDA - a CCO - strengthened over the year. With WREDA’s new senior management team finalised prior to Christmas, our Major Events team transferred to WREDA in 2016.

Wellington Regional Economic Development Agency Ltd (WREDA)

WREDA is the new regional economic development agency for the lower North Island, combining the economic development activities of Wellington City Council and Greater Wellington Regional Council to advance the prosperity and liveability of the Wellington region. WREDA brings together the functions and activities of the following agencies: Grow Wellington; Positively Wellington Tourism; Positively Wellington Venues and Wellington City Council major events.

Relevant Council outcomes:

People-centred city
Promotion of the city as an attractive place to live and do business, works to attract talent to the city and attract tens of thousands of visitors to the city every year

Connected-city
Ensuring the city has a presence internationally will be vital to attracting investment, talent, visitors and jobs

Dynamic-city
Attracting talent, investment, visitors and jobs will be critical to growing the economy and ensuring Wellington remains vibrant and retains its competitive advantage

Key activities

WREDA attracts and supports business activity, markets Wellington to tourists from New Zealand and overseas, and owns and operates performance venues and conference facilities. Working with others WREDA promotes business, education and cultural links through sister city relationships, and provides free weekend parking in the CBD

Key achievements

We promoted the city as an attractive place to live and do business, that works to attract talent to the city and to attract tens of thousands of visitors to the city every year

We celebrated our 150th anniversary of being New Zealand’s capital with over 85,000 people visiting 40 institutions in our very successful open house weekend. Approximately 15,000 people attended a concert and spectacular projection mapping show at Parliament. During the year, WREDA undertook a number of marketing campaigns including supporting DreamWorks Animation, The Exhibition, the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, New Zealand Festival, Wellington Sevens, and CubaDupa. A record number of conventions and events were held during October to December, including the Helloworld conference which attracted over 500 overseas delegates from the tourism industry. WREDA’s venues also successfully hosted 64 events over a 24-day period for the New Zealand Festival (source). Visitor numbers were strong again this year and commercial guest nights grew by 6.4% and had their highest 12 months on record (surpassing Auckland, Waikato, Hawkes Bay, Canterbury and the national growth rates). International and domestic guest nights grew by 12%. This is up from five years ago and is now surpassed nationally only by Queenstown/Central Otago and summer holiday destinations

We ensured the city has a presence internationally which will be vital to attracting investment, talent, visitors and jobs

A significant highlight during the year was the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, at Westpac Stadium from 18-21 February. The Tattoo attracted an audience of approximately 85,000 over the four shows, with over 60% of the audience coming from outside the Wellington region. The direct out of region spend in Wellington was estimated at $31.7 million, filling hotel beds across the region. We hosted major sporting events, including our first Super Rugby final and the All Blacks versus Wales test. Following on from the success of the ICC Cricket World Cup last year, we hosted a blockbuster summer of international cricket with the Black Caps taking on Pakistan in international T20 and One Day International (ODI) matches, and Australia in an ODI and a test match. The sold out match against Pakistan marked the return of ODI cricket to the Basin Reserve

To retain our international presence we won the right to host future events, including a number of international rugby matches next year. New Zealand Rugby also confirmed that the Sevens will remain in Wellington for another 3 years. Other major events announced include Keith Urban and Carrie Underwood performing at Westpac Stadium in December 2016

We attracted talent, investment, visitors and jobs critical to growing the economy and ensuring Wellington remains vibrant and retains its competitive advantage

The New Zealand Festival also celebrated its 30th anniversary between 26 February and 20 March, with 395 performances and seven world premieres. 95,000 tickets were sold for the Festival, with over 200,000 enjoying free non-ticketed events, including the Festival Playground

International highlights included the sold out seasons of Café Muller / Rite of Spring and the Jazz at Lincoln Centre Orchestra. An estimated 19% of attendees were from outside the Wellington region and the direct out of region spend was estimated at $32.1 million. We supported arts and cultural events that contributed to Wellington’s economy and created jobs. Beervana, Wellington on a Plate and LUX combined to attract record audiences to bring the city to life in August. The World of Wearable Art Season was again highly successful. Westpac Stadium hosted the Elton John and AC/DC concerts, attracting a combined audience of almost 60,000, with approximately 50% of the audience coming from outside of the region. CubaDupa returned over the weekend of 19-20 March, attracting tens of thousands to enjoy the immersive festival experience

During the year WREDA won funding to run the R9 Accelerator Programme (a programme of work to improve central government and business working more effectively) and has funding approved for the Regional Business Partner programme

Performance Information

Attendance at WCC supported events exceeded our target and last year’s performance because of Capital 150 celebrations, Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, Elton John’s concert and New Zealand Festival. The improved ratio of direct spend to economic impact is a result of high profile and unbudgeted events that resulted in high levels of regional visitation and economic impact. These measures can be found in the section ‘Measuring our Performance’.

Source: WREDA

To ensure our residents and visitors are connected we continued our city’s CBDfree Wi-fi network. There has been a 161% increase in CBD logins.

Measure
2015/16 Actual
Performance
2015/16 Target

Free Wi-Fi usage (logons/day) – waterfront and central city
CBD 17, 990,606
Waterfront 299,844
Improved performance
N/A

2014/15 Performance

6,816,785
142,366

Source: Citylink and Trademe

Through the City Growth Fund and economic grants we supported the attraction and retention of talented people, and supported the creative business sector in Wellington

The City Growth Fund completed its third year of funding events, partnerships, and initiatives to foster economic growth.

We supported a wide range of projects through the fund, including LUX, Wellington on a Plate, Venture Up, the Wellington Capital City 150th anniversary, the World War 1 Commemorations, Young Enterprise Trust (Wellington), Gillies McIndoe Research Institute research, Miramar Film Event Trust, the ICT Grad School, the Enspiral Open Source/Open Society event, the Helloworld conference, and the Collider tech hub programme.

The City Growth Fund fund also supported the second business accelerator for Youth Enterprise alumni (Venture Up), the Open Source/Open Society international conference, the establishment of the ICT Grad School in Wellington, and sponsored the Young Enterprise Trust’s Wellington presence.

Other beneficiaries to the fund include TEDxWellington, TEDxWellingtonWomen, Web Developers Conference of New Zealand, Multicore World, Webstock, and Summer of Tech. The first New Zealand based game developer’s conference Play by Play was held in Wellington this year and will be returning in 2017 on a larger scale.

We made progress on our major projects - improving direct access internationally will provide local businesses with new opportunities to access large markets

The consent application for a runway extension at Wellington Airport was lodged in April 2016. The resource consent was informed by work undertaken by Wellington International Airport Ltd (WIAL), including a cost-benefit analysis by Sapere Research Group. The numbers for domestic and international passengers entering Wellington Airport continues to grow.

Measure
2015/16 Actual Performance
2015/16 Target

Number of domestic airline passengers entering Wellington Airport
4,899,000
Improved performance
N/A

2014/15 Performance

4,682,000

Source: Wellington International Airport Limited

Measure
2015/16 Actual Performance
2015/16 Target

Number of international airline passengers entering Wellington Airport
897,000
Improved performance
N/A

2014/15 Performance

775,000

Source: Wellington International Airport Limited

We also continued to work with WIAL to develop international air connections. During the year, Singapore Airlines announced a new route, the ‘Capital Express’, connecting Wellington-Canberra-Singapore. Flights will start in September 2016, operating four times a week, providing Wellingtonians and visitors with the most efficient connection to Singapore.

We agreed in principle to support the building of a movie museum and a new purpose-built convention centre on Cable Street, opposite Te Papa. We also purchased the land for this development on Cable Street. We will partner with private interests to deliver this project. We consulted on the proposal in February/March 2016 and feedback was overwhelmingly positive. A report will go to the Council, with the final business case, requesting final approval for the convention centre and movie museum early in 2016/17. This proposal, if approved, will deliver two of our economic catalyst projects and provide significant economic benefit to the city.

We continued to strengthen international relations improving access to international markets and providing local businesses with new opportunities

We continued networking at an international level by hosting delegations and forums and cementing relationships. The first New Zealand–China Mayoral Forum, held in September 2015, was a significant milestone for our relationship with China. It resulted in strengthened civic and trade ties as well as promising deeper cultural understanding through programmes and exchanges. Led by Local Government New Zealand and hosted by the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, the forum focussed on trade and investment opportunities, in particular development prospects for tourism, education and the primary industries of both countries. Mayor Wade-Brown led a delegation to Wellington’s sister city, Xiamen (Fujian province) which included 12 New Zealand Mayors as well as over 50 business and education leaders. Joining them were 200 Chinese representatives including 13 of the country’s mayors. Described as an immense success by all those involved, the forum is set to become a regular event with the second of its kind being held in Wellington in 2017.

During the forum, Mayor Wade-Brown officially opened a New Zealand section at the Seashine import Supermarket in Xiamen. The trade initiative was born from the Wellington – Xiamen sister city relationship and resulted in dozens of local New Zealand products including dairy, honey, fruit and meat on the shelves of one of Fujian’s most popular supermarkets. This exposure has proven to be a great opportunity for local business owners to break the Chinese market and showcase quality New Zealand goods to foreign investors and consumers. Since opening, the company’s demand for Kiwi goods has grown exponentially and Seashine executives make regular visits to the Wellington region and beyond to scout out new products to stock their shelves.

During the lead up to Anzac Day this year, the city leaders of Wellington and Çanakkale signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and became historical sister cities. It was the coast of Gallipoli and the wider region of Çanakkale where some of the fiercest fighting in New Zealand military history took place. Founded on a historic bond formed during the World War 1, the new MoU promises to promote peace by developing a relationship that focusses on commemoration and appreciation.

We agreed a sister-city relationship with Canberra, building on the forthcoming flights from Wellington to Singapore via Canberra.

Measure
2015/16 Actual Performance
2015/16 Target

Number of events/activities held with international cities
75
Improved performance
N/A

2014/15 Performance

72

Source: WCC International Relations

Using our Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) – we improved the vibrancy of our suburban centres making Wellington an attractive place to live and help form a sense of community

We continued to establish BIDs, which involves a local business community within a geographic area developing projects and services that support local economic development. Over the year, we helped to get the BID in Kilbirnie up and running. We have also started work around expanding the boundary of the Miramar BID.

Our performance

Our performance against the measures on the quality of our investments in promoting the city are discussed in the previous table for WREDA.

Finances

How it was funded

The majority of the economic development activities are paid for by commercial ratepayers, as it covers the cost of tourism promotion, economic grants, and other activities that directly benefit the sector.

What it Cost 2015/16

Operating
Expenditure
($000)
Actual
2016
Budget
2016
Variance
2016
Actual
2015

3.1.1 WREDA ¹

Expenditure
18,574
31,560
12,986
23,385

Revenue
(738)
(14,365)
(13,627)
(915)

Net Expenditure
17,836
17,195
(641)
22,470

3.1.2 Wellington convention centre

Expenditure
14,269
-
(14,269)
14,031

Revenue
(14,371)
-
14,371
(14,483)

Net Revenue
(102)
-
102
(452)

3.1.3 Retail support (free weekend parking)

Expenditure
1,356
1,356
-
1,355

Revenue
-
-
-
-

Net Expenditure
1,356
1,356
-
1,355

3.1.4 City growth, economic growth and economic grants²

Expenditure
3,798
3,599
(199)
2,409

Revenue
-
-
-
-

Net Expenditure
3,798
3,599
(199)
2,409

3.1.6 Regional and external relations ³

Expenditure
677
572
(105)
583

Revenue
(24)
-
24
(8)

Net Expenditure
653
572
(81)
575

3.1.7 Business improvement districts

Expenditure
114
114
-
97

Revenue
-
-
-
-

Net Expenditure
114
114
-
97

Capital
Expenditure
($000)
Actual
2016
Budget*
2016
Variance
2016
Actual
2015

3.1.2 Wellington convention centre ⁴

Expenditure
1,669
1,669
-
2,268

Unspent portion of budget to be carried forward
N/A
749

N/A

* The capital expenditure budget consists of the LTP amount plus the carry forward from 2014/15.
1 Over budget due to over-commitment in major events offset by underspend in Destination Wellington fund.
2 Over budget due to professional fees incurred on the Convention Centre/Movie Museum project.
3 Over budget due to an additional staff member and more overseas travel.
4 Under budget due to delays in the renewals programme for the St James Theatre, to align work with the earthquake strengthening works, and renewal works at the TSB Arena.

The Basin Reserve Trust

Established in 2004, the Trust manages assets and operations at the Basin Reserve.

Relevant Council outcomes:

People-centred city
Promotion of the city as an attractive place to live and do business, works to attract talent to the city and attract tens of thousands of visitors to the city every year

Key activities

The Basin Reserve Trust

Contributes to the Wellington City Council’s vision of Creative Wellington - Innovative Capital

Manages, administers, plans, develops, maintains, promotes and operates the Basin Reserve for recreation and leisure activities and for the playing of cricket for the benefit of Wellingtonians

Establishes a long-term policy for the further development of the Basin Reserve as a recreational facility and as a facility for the playing of cricket, other sports and as a venue for other community based activities

Preserves and enhances the significant and recognised heritage value of the Basin Reserve

Key achievements

Promotion of the city as an attractive place to live and do business, works to attract talent to the city and attract tens of thousands of visitors to the city every year

The return of One Day International Cricket to the Basin for the first time in 11 years with the Blackcaps playing Pakistan (6,500)

Blackcaps vs Australia Test Match (20,000 over 3 days)

Two international T20 women’s (Whiteferns) matches (2000)

The opening of the refurbished Wes Armstrong Ground Keepers Cottage

The Robbie Williams concert marking the return of public concerts to the Basin for the first time in 6 years (10,000)

The installation of two large information boards covering the sporting history of the Basin on the front of the northern and southern toilet blocks

Performance Information:

We have significantly exceeded our targets for sport and community events held at the Basin Reserve

Interesting Fact
2015/16 Actual Performance
2015/16 Target

Number of Events - Cricket
35
Improved performance
11

2014/15 Performance

N/A (Not Established)

Interesting Fact
2015/16 Actual Performance
2015/16 Target

Number of Events - Other Sports
25
Improved performance

12

2014/15 Performance

N/A (Not Established)

Interesting Fact
2015/16 Actual Performance
2015/16 Target

Number of Events - Community
15
Improved performance
4

2014/15 Performance

N/A (Not Established)

Source: Basin Reserve Trust

Economic – overall summary

We made progress towards most of the activities in this activity area in year one of the LTP. There were delays in our only capital project, the movie museum and convention centre, which reflects the complexity of acquiring land, and designing and building a national asset of this kind. On balance, our economic development investments were successful and we are continuing to support a more vibrant, diversified and resilient economy, which provides a strong return to our community.

13 WCC – Wellington City Profile – Key facts about the city

14 WCC – Wellington City Profile – Key facts about the city

15 WCC City Events - WREDA

4 Cultural wellbeing

Oranga ahurea

Reflecting and shaping Wellington’s unique cultural identity

By The Numbers

300+

Cafes, bars and restaurants – that’s more places to eat and drink per capita than New York. 16

55+

Galleries in Wellington. 17

100

Food events in Wellington On a Plate, making it New Zealand’s largest food festival. 18

81% and 92%

New Zealanders and residents perceptions that Wellington has a culturally rich and diverse arts scene. This compares to 84% for New Zealanders and 91% residents in 2014/15. 19

Cultural wellbeing – at a glance

Outcomes
Connected-city
People-centred city
Eco-city
Dynamic-city

Relevant LTP objectives

“Investing to grow” through establishing a programme of major projects that grow the economy and deliver returns on investment;

Investing to maintain and improve existing services, including making infrastructure more resilient and the city’s transport system more efficient;

Increasing the use of existing assets rather than spending on new infrastructure;

Improving asset management practices to better manage risk and the timing of asset replacement; and

Achieving ongoing efficiencies from shared services and improved customer experiences.

LTP key activities
Arts and Cultural Activities.

Relevant LTP projects
Inclusive and culturally diverse city; Increasing the range of visitor attractions; Increasing funding for major events; New Zealand Festival; An indoor arena; and Wellington Convention Centre.

Operational expenditure
Operational expenditure (as per financial summary).

The strength of Wellington’s creative culture depends on people, the output of artists, writers, musicians, and dancers and on the expressiveness of Wellington’s communities. We fund events and festivals, support attractions such as Te Papa, the Carter Observatory (Space Place), and the city’s galleries and museums, and also support community art and cultural activities. We work in partnership with the business community, and four other councils in the region, providing support for regional art and cultural activities.

We fund these activities because they matter to the lives of individual Wellingtonians, and to the community as a whole. They contribute to a diverse economy, and build on Wellington’s reputation as New Zealand’s arts and culture capital. They also make the city a more vibrant place to live, help develop healthy and connected communities, and improve residents’ quality of life.

Case study

Artsplash

Artsplash is a 5-day young people’s arts festival that brings together primary and intermediate schools from throughout the Wellington region to celebrate dance, music, visual art and wearable art. Around 8,000 children participate in this unique-to-New Zealand event, which is organised and coordinated by Mary Prichard. During its 28 years, Artsplash has grown into a significant event on Wellington City Council’s annual calendar.

Music-making “by young people, for young people” is at the heart of Artsplash. Youth orchestras perform alongside the Artsplash Band on the main stage, and smaller groups perform in the foyer as family and friends make their way into the auditorium. The festival also includes students choreographing and performing their own dance routines, showcasing their own wearable art creations, and seeing their visual works of art displayed in a public exhibition.

“Artsplash is completely accessible to everyone – the kids come from all different backgrounds and there are no auditions,” says Mary.

Artsplash has been a key early experience for many of our emerging young artists, including soprano Bianca Andrews, and internationally renowned tenor Ben Makisi and concert pianist Ludwig Treviranus.

The 2016 festival was held at the Michael Fowler Centre over August and September 2015. Performances included partnerships with Virtuoso Strings, Wellington Youth Sinfonietta Orchestra, and Chilton Amadeus Orchestra.

4.1

Arts and cultural activities

Ngā mahi toi me ngā ngohe ahure

Supporting arts activity adds vibrancy to the city as well as promoting inclusive and strong communities

What we do and why

Our arts activities ensure Wellington builds on its reputation as New Zealand’s arts and culture capital, by continuing to be home to top-class museums and art galleries, orchestras, dance and theatre companies. A strong arts and culture sector contributes to a diverse economy, a creative identity and connected communities, which is why we live here.

Our activities include:

Funding Te Papa, the Great War Exhibition, Wellington Museum, City Gallery, Capital E, the Cable Car Museum, Carter Observatory (trading as Space Place), and Nairn Street Cottage

Supporting events and cultural festivals

Providing grant funds to arts organisations

Managing the Toi Pōneke Arts Centre, and the city’s art collection

Funding cultural grants

Access to and support for community arts

Funding arts partnerships

Partnerships with four other councils in the region to provide support for regional arts, cultural and environmental organisations and activities

Over the year these activities contribute to the following outcomes:

Outcome
Outcome statement

People-centred city

Museums, galleries and visitor attractions shape Wellington’s sense of place and identity. They celebrate creativity and ideas and increase our understanding of culture and science

Cultural grants support our creative sector ensuring the city is lively, full of festivals, shows and performances all year

Support for community arts programmes and venues allows Wellington’s creative communities to put on shows, festivals and performances

Dynamic-city

Cultural grants support Wellington’s cultural institutions integral to our cultural and events capital status. They provide shows and performances that make the city a lively place to visit, play and do business

Our key achievements

We supported a wide range of museums, galleries and visitor attractions (through arts and cultural projects) that shaped our sense of place and identity

We commemorated the 100th anniversary of WW1 with a range of activities over the year, including commemorations for Anzac Week. A light and sound show at Pukeahu National War Memorial Park, WW1 Remembered: A Light and Sound Show 2016, highlighted New Zealand’s contribution to the war during 1916 and 1917. Remembrance, a WW100 interactive public artwork by Squidsoup, was installed in Appleton Park, Karori, but was closed early due to vandalism.

We also supported the Great War Exhibition, which had a successful year in terms of visitor numbers and experience. The exhibition attracted 179,363 visitors for the year, including school groups. An admission charge for adults of $15 was introduced by the Great War Trust from 1 March 2016 to provide additional and needed operational funding.

Did you know?

In 2015, 57% of New Zealanders and 63% of residents perceived Wellington as the arts capital of New Zealand. In 2016 this number increased to 58% of New Zealanders and 66% of residents.20

We provided support to Te Papa, who had 1,784,939 visitors, a record even beating the opening year of 1998/99. The Gallipoli: The scale of our war exhibition continues to attract high levels of visitation. Te Papa’s 2015/16 summer blockbuster exhibition, DreamWorks Animation: The Exhibition, closed on Easter weekend, with 137,105 total visits. This made it the fourth most popular paid entry exhibition in Te Papa’s history, and the tenth most popular exhibition overall.

Minor, but still key city events included: Sky Show, Capital Christmas, New Year’s Eve, and the Summer City Programme. Wellington Sky Show was successfully staged to an estimated audience of 100,000. A festive Capital Christmas included the Santa Parade and having the city dressed with bright lights, banners and flags, two large Christmas trees in Midland and Courtenay Place parks, and candy cane wrapping around the Railway Station pillars. The New Year’s Eve event was staged in Frank Kitts Park to a capacity crowd, with a family friendly vibe and positive media feedback. We also supported a number of more local events and projects including Youth Circus, a new Wellington Street Art Map, the Young and Hungry festival of new theatre, and the Shakespeare Globe Centre NZ.

There was also positive feedback on the programming of Meridian Gardens Magic this year, validating our decision to present a bolder, more diverse and creative event offering. The partnership with Massey’s School of Design, showcasing student light-based creations at the Botanic Garden, again brought an element of delight and innovation to Gardens Magic. We are in discussions with other faculties and institutions about possible future projects and collaborations.

Did you know?

In 2015, 85% of residents agreed ‘Wellington is an easy place to get involved with the arts’. In 2016 this number increased to 86%.21

There were three Courtenay Place Park light box exhibitions during the year, including The Visitors’ and Romance, and we sponsored other community events, including the NZCT Dragon Boat Festival, the Island Bay Festival, Chinese New Year, and Newtown Festival.

Attendee satisfaction with Council supported events declined. The reasons for low satisfaction included postponement of one event and bad weather. In addition, some attendance figures were overrated and the capacity of some venues limited.

Measure
2015/16 Actual Performance
2015/16 Target

Attendee satisfaction with Council supported arts and cultural festivals
85%
Did not achieve
90%

2014/15 Performance

84%

Source: New Zealand Festival

Through our CCO, the Wellington Museums Trust, we supported our visitor attractions and museums.

Council Controlled Organisation – Wellington Museums Trust

The Wellington Museums Trust operates six institutions on behalf of Wellington City Council. These are Capital E, Space Place at Carter Observatory, City Gallery Wellington, Nairn Street Cottage, Wellington Museum (including the Plimmer’s Ark display in the Old Bank Arcade) and the Wellington Cable Car Museum.

Relevant Council outcomes:

People-centred city

Connected-city

Dynamic-city
Museums, galleries and visitor attractions shape Wellington’s sense of place and identity. They celebrate creativity and ideas and increase our understanding of culture and science.

Key activities

The main activities of the Trust are:

Delivering experiences, events and exhibitions

Conservation of its collections

Research and development to enhance visitor experiences

Education experiences to children and young people

Protection of heritage of venues

Soundhouse Studio and work with artists and collectors

Key achievements

The Trust celebrated 20 years of managing and developing the Trust assets since its establishment in 1995

Museums, galleries and visitor attractions shape Wellington’s sense of place and identity. They celebrate creativity and ideas and increase our understanding of culture and science

The Attic development at Wellington Museum was completed in the second half of the year. Visitation to the Wellington Museum was 133,470 against a target of 120,000. The Trust launched Space Place at Carter Observatory under a new business model and exceeded visitation expectations for the year. City Gallery hosted popular exhibitions including Fiona Pardington: A Beautiful Hesitation and Francis Upritchard: Jealous Saboteurs which opened in May. Demented Architecture which included the work of Wellington artist Kirsty Lilico and acclaimed Danish artist Olafur Eliasson, brought in Lego enthusiasts of all ages to contribute to The Cubic Structural Evolution Project. The Wellington Museums Trust’s institutions attracted 688,169 visitors for the year, well above the target of 600,000, with City Gallery, Wellington Museum, Cable Car Museum, Capital E and Space Place visitation rates all above target

Interesting Fact
2015/16 Actual Performance
2015/16 Target

Total visitors
Total visitors:
688,169
Improved performance
600,000

2014/15 Performance

689,414

Source: Wellington Museums Trust

We provided a number of grants to support our cultural sector ensuring the city is lively, and full of festivals and performances. These grants also support cultural institutions integral to our cultural and events capital status

Our Arts and Culture Fund focuses on four areas: the city as a hothouse for talent, Wellington as a region of confident identities, active and engaged people, and our creative future through technology. The fund supports projects and key partnerships for key arts institutions in the city. Over the year we supported 69 projects with $235,795, with grants ranging from $500 for a community Matariki festival to significant large scale youth theatre, projects around the commemorations for WW1 and community murals.

In partnership with four other councils in the region, we support the Wellington Regional Amenities Fund. Ten arts and environmental organisations from around the Wellington region were granted funding from the 2014/15 round, including Aratoi Museum of Art and History, Circa Theatre, Festival of the Elements, LUX Festival Trust, Mahara Gallery, Matariki Festival, Nature Connections, New Zealand Festival, Orchestra Wellington, the Wellington Museums Trust project, and Kids to the Capital. We contributed $609,200 towards the $1,053,200 distributed by the fund in 2015/16.

Projects that reach across the region like Nature Connections, Matariki, and the Kids to the Capital initiative, which have all received funding over the past 2 years, are well underway and developing and implementing new models for working – championing collaboration over competition.

We supported community arts programmes and venues allowing our creative communities to put on shows, festivals and performances

We worked with new arts organisation Vivid to support their inaugural Street Art Festival during Fringe 2016 resulting in three new murals in the city. The inaugural Ahi Kaa festival was held during Matariki 2015, celebrating Māori theatre and dance across four theatres and supported via the Arts and Culture Fund. The inaugural Spring Uprising Festival took place in Vogelmorn in September 2015. This festival focused on community participatory arts practice and was supported by an Arts and Culture Grant22 .

We facilitated the community project, Art in the Park, at the Terrace Gardens as part of Parks Week to enliven the space and encourage people to use it. Musicians played and two artists, developed a mosaic and a mural in partnership with local residents. We also supported artists and purchased 10 artworks for the City Art Collection and continued to support a number of artists in residence programmes, including the Wellington Asia Residency Exchange and Te Whare Hēra.

We also continued to support artists in Wellington through our Toi Pōneke Arts Centre. Toi Pōneke celebrated its 10th anniversary with an open day, including a full programme of local musicians, performance art, public talks and open studios and offices. Toi Pōneke Gallery delivered 13 exhibitions during the year and held seven public programmes. An Open Studios Day was held during CubaDupa.

We worked, often in partnership, on a number of mural projects in the city, including:

With Wellington Cable Car Limited on a project to design murals for a series of new trolleybus cabinets installed across the city

Waituhi 2015, a Matariki mural printed onto a billboard skin installed under the City to Sea Bridge

With Westpac Stadium to launch the Westpac Stadium community mural projects in December. Six artists workshopped with 12 schools to paint a total of 12 murals (two per artist) on the walls of the internal stadium concourse to celebrate the stadium’s 15th anniversary, enliven the stadium walls, and engage audiences across the Wellington region

With Eastern Southern Youth Trust and artist Chris Barrand to support the development of a community mural in Strathmore at Taiaroa Park

With the Karori community on a large-scale mural on the new retaining wall at Karori Road. Artists Ruth and Ian Taylor painted the mural, after a series of workshops with schools in the area to brainstorm ideas

With the residents of Flagstaff Hill in collaboration with mosaic artist Rachel Silver and street artist Olivier Kenneybrew. They developed a series of artworks in and around the Terrace Gardens that reduce graffiti, enliven the space and, reflect and complement the heritage and the surrounding urban, green environment

Temporary public art projects were also supported, including PARK(ing) Day on 9 March, a day of temporary installations in car parks throughout the central city, organised by the Wellington Sculpture Trust.

Masons Screen, a 24 hour outdoor screen for video art, was launched in December as part of the Council’s Masons Lane upgrade. We are partnering with arts organisation CIRCUIT Artist Film and Video Aotearoa New Zealand to deliver the pilot programme over the next year, with a new video featured each month.

Our performance

Quality and usage of arts and culture support activities: There was an increase from last year in attendee satisfaction with the arts and cultural festivals we support. We were below our target for this measure. This is largely due to events such as weather postponements that are beyond our control. Customer satisfaction with the New Zealand Festival has increased from 2014. The economic impact of the New Zealand Festival was below target largely because many of our regional visitors chose to attend the earlier Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, instead of the New Zealand Festival the following weekend. Further detail can be found in the section ‘Measuring our Performance’.

Finances

How it was funded

Services in this activity are funded through a mixture of general and targeted rates and external grants and subsidies from non-Council sources.

What it cost 2015/16

Operating
Expenditure
($000)
Actual
2016
Budget
2016
Variance
2016
Actual
2015

4.1.1 City Galleries and Museums

Expenditure
9,094
9,208
114
8,379

Revenue
-
-
-
-

Net Expenditure
9,094
9,208
114
8,379

4.1.2 Visitor attractions
(Te Papa/Carter Observatory) ¹

Expenditure
3,121
2,840
(281)
3,033

Revenue
-
-
-
-

Net Expenditure
3,121
2,840
(281)
3,033

4.1.3 Arts and cultural festivals

Expenditure
2,601
2,692
91
3,569

Revenue
(263)
(410)
(147)
(441)

Net Expenditure
2,338
2,282
(56)
3,128

4.1.4 Cultural grants

Expenditure
856
858
2
1,037

Revenue
-
-
-
-

Net Expenditure
856
858
2
1,037

4.1.5 Access and support for community arts

Expenditure
659
659
-
569

Revenue
(74)
(62)
12
(63)

Net Expenditure
585
597
12
506

4.1.6 Arts partnerships

Expenditure
2,271
2,277
6
1,834

Revenue
(507)
(515)
(8)
(482)

Net Expenditure
1,764
1,762
(2)
1,352

4.1.7 Regional Amenities Fund

Expenditure
641
609
(32)
656

Revenue
(32)
-
32
(34)

Net Expenditure
609
609
-
622

* The capital expenditure budget consists of the LTP amount plus the carry forward from 2014/15.
1 Over budget due to additional depreciation and impairment of Carter Observatory assets.
2 Wellington Museum upgrade completed under budget.
3 Under budget due to delays and changes in the Cable Car Trail project.
4 Under budget due to the design process taking longer than expected for the Pou Whenua to be placed at the Taputeranga reserve.

Capital
Expenditure
($000)
Actual
2016
Budget*
2016
Variance
2016
Actual
2015

4.1.1 City Galleries and Museums ²

Expenditure
1,644
1,914
270
1,807

Unspent portion of budget to be carried forward
N/A
-
-
N/A

4.1.2 Visitor attractions
(Te Papa/Carter Observatory) ³

Expenditure
268
311
43
554

Unspent portion of budget to be carried forward
N/A
43
-
N/A

4.1.4 Cultural grants ⁴

Expenditure
40
100
60
-

Unspent portion of budget to be carried forward
N/A
60
-
N/A

4.1.5 Access and support for community arts

Expenditure
16
26
10
10

Unspent portion of the budget to be carried forward
N/A
-
-
N/A

Cultural wellbeing – overall summary

We made progress towards the activities for year one of the LTP despite some delays in our capital works programme. Generally speaking, Wellingtonians have a positive attitude towards the role we play as the arts capital of New Zealand. Visitor numbers were up for our museums, galleries and Te Papa. The economic impact of the NZ Festival shows a decline – but these figures exclude the impact of the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo held the weekend before the festival. There were delays to our capital programme although we successfully completed the Wellington Museum upgrade under budget. On balance, our activities in this area have helped us make a significant boost in the achievement of our outcomes.

16 WCC Wellington City Profile – Key facts about the city

17 WCC Wellington City Profile – Key facts about the city

18 WCC Wellington City Profile – Key facts about the city

19 WCC Residents Monitoring Surrvey 2016

20 National Wellington Reputation Survey Results 2016

21 National Wellington Reputation Survey Results 2016

22 List of grants; http://wellington.govt.nz/~/media/services/community-and-culture/funding/files/arts-and-cultural-fund.pdf?la=en .

5 Social and Recreation

Pāpori me te hākinakina

Sustaining safe, resilient and healthy communities

BY THE NUMBERS

1.3 million

Number of swims residents took in city pools,
this compares to 1.2 million in 2014/15. 23

94%

Occupancy rate of available housing facilities. This is 4% above our target. 24

Social and Recreation – at a glance

Outcomes
Connected-city
People-centred city
Eco-city
Dynamic-city

Relevant LTP objectives

“Investing to grow” through establishing a programme of major projects that grow the economy and deliver returns on investment;

Investing to maintain and improve existing services, including making infrastructure more resilient and the city’s transport system more efficient;

Increasing the use of existing assets rather than spending on new infrastructure;

Improving asset management practices to better manage risk and the timing of asset replacement; and

Achieving ongoing efficiencies from shared services and improved customer experiences.

LTP key activities
Recreation promotion and support.
Community support.
Public health and safety.

Relevant LTP projects
Social housing; Homelessness; Recreation and community facilities; Basin Reserve re-development; National Hockey Stadium; Johnsonville facility improvements; Dog exercise areas; Removing graffiti; and a child friendly city.

Operational expenditure
Operational expenditure (as per financial summary).

The Council’s social and recreation work includes providing housing for people in need, funding city safety initiatives, regulating and monitoring food and liquor outlets, preparing to deal with earthquakes and other emergencies, providing community and recreation centres and halls, providing public toilets and cemeteries, pools and libraries, supporting community groups and events, providing sport and recreation facilities, neighbourhood playgrounds and dedicated areas for our dogs. In this activity area we fund, facilitate and sometimes regulate. We work with others and ensure we don’t replicate the effort of clubs, volunteer organisations, businesses and individuals to help themselves.

We fund these services because they matter to the lives of individual Wellingtonians, and to the community as a whole. They help to protect the most vulnerable people, keep people safe and healthy, and strengthen communities.

These activities also provide opportunities for people to live healthy lifestyles, to reach their potential, and enjoy themselves.

5.1

Recreation promotion and support

Ngā rauhanga hapori

We provide a wide variety of community facilities throughout the city to encourage quality of life and healthy lifestyles

What we do and why

Our sporting and recreation facilities encourage people of all ages to engage in activities that help them live more active and healthy lives. Some facilities also attract visitors and raise the city’s profile by hosting national and international events.

Our activities include:

Swimming pools - we have seven swimming pools for people to learn to swim, exercise, participate in aquatic sports and have fun

Sportsfields (including synthetic) - 44 natural and nine artificial sports turfs (two in partnership with schools), eight croquet lawns, Newtown Park running track, a velodrome, and tennis/netball courts

Recreation centres - four multi-purpose recreation centres plus the ASB Sports Centre

Recreation partnerships, programmes and leases

Playgrounds

Marinas - The Evans Bay Marina and Clyde Quay Boat Harbour

Golf course - Berhampore Golf Course

Over the year these activities contribute to the following outcomes:

Outcome
Outcome statement

People-centred city

Swimming pools, sportsfields, recreation centres, golf courses and recreation programmes provide access to sport and recreation opportunities important for people’s health and the well-being

Playgrounds provide access to recreation opportunities and physical play for younger children which is important for their development and health and well-being

Marinas support access to the harbour and the coast for recreation, fishing and enjoyment

Connected-city

Swimming pools, sportsfields, recreation centres, golf courses and recreation programmes bring people together, strengthening social cohesion and making the city a better place to live

Did you know?

Wellington has over 40 sport grounds which are used for club and school sport throughout the year.

Our key achievements

We made significant progress towards providing facilities that give residents  access to sport opportunities important for health and well-being and that bring people together, strengthening social cohesion and making the city a better place to live

We completed gravel banding to improve drainage on the sportsfield at Karori Park, and began the development of two sand sportsfields at Martin Luckie Park. We applied for consent to construct a new artificial surface at (the former) Terawhiti Bowling Club in Karori, and the new artificial hockey turf at Mt Albert Park. User satisfaction with our artificial sportsfields has increased over the year, and is significantly above target. Satisfaction with grass fields is below target and has declined since last year largely due to environmental conditions beyond our control.

Utilisation of our artificial sportsfields was generally less than expected. Whilst well used in July for school holiday programmes, unpredictable weather and costs meant Primary Schools were reluctant to make bookings over the rest of the off peak winter period. Usage in peak summer is generally low as schools use their own field, and low in off peak winter because of low demand on weekend evenings. Summer usage increased with the American football at Alex Moore Park and increased training hours at Nairnville.

MEASURE
2015/16 Actual Performance
2015/16 Target

Percentage of utilisation of artificial sportsfields
Peak Winter 68%
Did not achieve
Peak Summer 36%
Did not achieve
Off-peak Winter 15%
Did not achieve
Off-peak Summer 10%
Did not achieve
Peak Winter 80%
Peak Summer 40%
Off-peak Winter 25%
Off-peak Summer 20%

2014/15 Performance

Peak Winter 68%
Peak Summer 32%
Off-peak Winter 25%
Off-peak Summer 11%

Source: WCC Parks and Recreation

An upgrade at the Wellington Regional Aquatic Centre, which included relocating and refurbishing Club Active Gym, and, upgrading the front of house and the spa areas, was also completed. Planning work is also underway for the refurbishment of the Hataitai Ballpark and Kelburn Park sports pavilions. The number of visits to swimming pools has increased from last year, and is above target. User satisfaction with swimming pools has improved from last year but is still below target.

Measure
2015/16 Actual Performance
2015/16 Target

User satisfaction with swimming pools
88%
Did not achieve
90%

2014/15 Performance

85%

Source: WCC Parks and Recreation

We worked with sports clubs and schools at Kilbirnie Park, Alex Moore Park and Hataitai Ballpark on the formation of community sports hubs, and with the Lyall Bay Surf Life Saving Club on the planning of their proposed new surf club building.

Did you know?

The frequency residents engage in physical activity has increased from 71 % in 2014/15 to 74 % in 2015/1625 .

Work outlined the Basin Reserve Masterplan also started. During the year we completed the construction of the upgraded ground keeping facilities and started working on deferred maintenance on the Vance Stand.

Our recreation facilities continued to host a range of local, regional, national and international competitions in a range of sports, including: swimming, diving, underwater hockey, waterpolo, basketball, netball, volleyball, futsal and floorball. Whilst usage of our community halls has increased, usage of community centres has decreased.

Measure
2015/16 Actual Performance
2015/16 Target

Residents usage of City Councils community and recreation facilities
Community Hall 21%
Improved performance
Community Centre 20%
Did not achieve
N/A

2014/15 Performance

19%
22%

Source: WCC Residents’ Monitoring Survey

Other achievements include our pool lifeguards winning the National Pool Lifeguard Championship, and providing funding and support for emerging athletes through the Wellington City Council Sport Talent Development programme.

Case study

Shift: improving young women’s wellbeing in Wellington

Shift is a pilot project led by our Community Partnerships Team within Parks, Sport and Recreation. It began in February 2016 and aims to increase the physical activity levels and wellbeing of young Wellington women through co-design and empowering them to build their own solutions to health and wellbeing issues.

Shift focusses on five areas:

Delivering 10-week programmes around physical activity and wellbeing in Wellington secondary schools

Building core groups of female Shift Leaders who are mentored to champion physical activity and wellbeing within their schools and wider communities Increasing the number of fun, social, low-cost community-based physical activity and wellbeing opportunities on offer in Wellington – targeting young women aged 12–20 years

“Give back, Shift forward” – a crowdsourced fund through PledgeMe, where young women can apply for funding to participate in movement opportunities in Wellington

Shift Jams, held at BizDojo, for groups of young Wellington women to practise leadership, and learn about social entrepreneurship and building wellbeing solutions using a people-focussed approach

To date, Shift has engaged with more than 200 young Wellington women and held more than 50 Shift activities and events using our open spaces and recreational facilities. The first round of the Give back, Shift forward fund opened 1 July and aims to support at least 20 young women in accessing a physical activity opportunity that would, for financial reasons, be otherwise unavailable to them. Shift is a joint initiative between Wellington City Council and The Boys and Girls Institute, funded by grants from Sport Wellington, the Ministry of Social Development, Lottery Community and supported by a vast array of individuals and organisations who are passionate about seeing young Wellington women flourish. Shift aims to engage with a minimum of 600 young women in 2016 and continue the project in 2017.

Measure
2015/16 Actual Performance
2015/16 Target

Resident’s perceptions that there are barriers to participating in recreation activities.
See Reference
Page
Fig. 6 for
full detail
Improved performance
N/A

2014/15 Performance

See Fig. 6

Source: WCC Residents’ Monitoring Survey

We provided playgrounds to give access to recreation opportunities and physical play for younger children which is important for their development and health and wellbeing

Over the year we completed four playground renewals at Gilbert Young Play Area, Churchill Park and Play Area, Chorley Grove Play Area, and Cheyne Walk Play Area. To assist our younger people we used money ($250,000) received from the New Zealand Community Trust towards our ‘Youth in Sport’ programme at the ASB Sports Centre, the ‘Push-Play’ programme, and the 2016 Dragon Boat Festival.

We carried out work on our marinas to support access to the harbour and the coast for recreation, fishing and enjoyment

Renewal works were completed at the Evans Bay Marina, including the replacement of piles, bearers and fendering.

Did you know?

The Berhampore Golf course opened in 1915 as a 9 hole golf course and was extended to an 18 hole course in 1921. Nestled in the Town Belt and now known as Mornington Golf Club, the multi sport complex offers Wellingtonians bowls, Bocce (an Italian version of bowls) a playgroup for under 5-year olds, and a tai chi group.

Our performance

Quality and usage of recreation facilities: We didn’t meet our targets for the use of artificial sportsfields - peak and off-peak. Whilst winter off-peak usage is based on football school holiday programmes, at other times usage depends on the demand from schools which is driven by the unpredictable weather and costs. User satisfaction with swimming pools was also below our target, although an improvement on last year. There was an increase in visits to pools from last year and we exceeded our target. User satisfaction with recreation centres was also below our target but an improvement on last year. Visits to recreation centres including the ASB Sports Centre increased from last year and exceeded our target. Further detail can be found in the section ‘Measuring our Performance’.

Finances

How it was funded

Services in this activity are funded through a mixture of general rates and user charges.

What it cost 2015/16

Operating Expenditure ($000)
Actual
2016
Budget
2016
Variance
2016
Actual
2015

5.1.1 Swimming Pools ¹

Expenditure
21,138
20,476
(662)
20,520

Revenue
(7,017)
(7,587)
(570)
(6,806)

Net Expenditure
14,121
12,889
(1,232)
13,714

5.1.2 Sportsfields

Expenditure
3,272
3,405
133
3,417

Revenue
(273)
(295)
(22)
(319)

Net Expenditure
2,999
3,110
111
3,098

5.1.3 Sportsfields (Synthetic)

Expenditure
1,258
1,354
96
1,237

Revenue
(473)
(524)
(51)
(418)

Net Expenditure
785
830
45
819

5.1.4 Recreation Centres ²

Expenditure
9,425
9,702
277
9,705

Revenue
(2,754)
(2,657)
97
(2,653)

Net Expenditure
6,671
7,045
374
7,052

5.1.5 Recreation partnerships

Expenditure
992
1,088
96
1,049

Revenue
-
-
-
-

Net Expenditure
992
1,088
96
1,049

5.1.6 Playgrounds

Expenditure
759
737
(22)
746

Revenue
-
-
-
-

Net Expenditure
759
737
(22)
746

5.1.7 Marinas ³

Expenditure
565
602
37
511

Revenue
(596)
(592)
4
(582)

Net Revenue
(31)
10
41
(71)

5.1.8 Golf Course ⁴

Expenditure
225
270
45
221

Revenue
(60)
(77)
(17)
(58)

Net Expenditure
165
193
28
163

5.1.9 Recreation programmes ⁵

Expenditure
252
282
30
345

Revenue
(128)
(15)
113
(59)

Net Expenditure
124
267
143
286

Capital
Expenditure
($000)
Actual
2016
Budget*
2016
Variance
2016
Actual
2015

5.1.1 Swimming Pools

Expenditure
2,535
2,417
(118)
5,185

Unspent portion of budget to be carried forward
N/A
-
-
N/A

5.1.2 Sportsfields ⁶

Expenditure
1,125
575
(550)
517

Unspent portion of budget to be carried forward
N/A
75
-
N/A

5.1.3 Sportsfields (Synthetic) ⁷

Expenditure
223
223
-
47

Unspent portion of budget to be carried forward
N/A
337
-
N/A

5.1.4 Recreation Centres ⁸

Expenditure
112
246
134
27

Unspent portion of budget to be carried forward
N/A
14
-
N/A

5.1.5 Recreation partnerships ⁹

Expenditure
857
906
49
234

Unspent portion of budget to be carried forward
N/A
3,100
-
N/A

5.1.6 Playgrounds

Expenditure
429
414
(15)
602

Unspent portion of budget to be carried forward
N/A
-
-
N/A

5.1.7 Marinas

Expenditure
524
522
(2)
92

Unspent portion of budget to be carried forward
N/A
36
-
N/A

*The capital expenditure budget consists of the LTP amount plus the carry forward from 2014/15.
1 Over budget due to lower revenue and higher labour costs.
2 Under budget due to higher revenue and savings in interest costs.
3Under budget due to lower maintenance costs.
4 Under budget due to lower maintenance and vehicle costs.
5 Under budget due to additional revenue to support programmes.
6 Over budget due to unbudgeted works on Martin Luckie park to support elite sport. Additional funding of $550,000 was approved by Council.
7 Under budget due to delays in completing the additional turf for the National Hockey Stadium and the synthetic turf sportsfield for Terawhiti park.
8 Under budget due to savings in the capital renewal programme.
9 Under budget due to delays in the upgrade works planned for the Basin Reserve.

5.2

Community participation and support

Tautoko hapori

We provide leadership as a key influencer on the city’s wellbeing through partnerships and/or collaborations to improve community wellbeing and to ensure local services meet local needs. We support a city wide network of community spaces, libraries, community organisations, and provide homes for people whose needs are not met by state housing or the private housing market

What we do and why

We want Wellington to be a people-centred city that supports diverse and inclusive communities. We support a network of community spaces and libraries to provide a focal point for community activities and programmes. We also support community leadership and advocacy to strengthen community resilience and safety.

We partner with Police and social agencies to coordinate a city-wide approach to homelessness. By providing social housing, with a focus on tenant welfare, we provide stability for vulnerable households.

Our activities include the following:

Libraries - 12 libraries plus an online branch providing access to a wide array of books, CDs, magazines, DVDs, e-books and e-audio, online journals, and e-music tracks

Access support (Leisure Card) – we provide discounted pricing for recreation services and facilities, enabling access for those who couldn’t otherwise afford it

Community advocacy and support – we support community and service providers and programmes to meet the needs of our diverse communities and most vulnerable residents. We partner with key social and health agencies to ensure there is a coordinated approach to addressing emerging community issues

Grants (social and recreation) - we support projects and organisations contributing to community resilience, fostering strong, sustainable communities and build capacity in the community. This includes support for local community projects, facilities and organisations

Community centres and halls – we provide community facilities and services, including a city-wide network of 21 community centres and halls offering services, programmes, spaces for hire, childcare and education services

Housing – we house approximately 4,000 people in 2,200 units

Over the year these activities contribute to the following outcomes:

Outcome
Outcome statement

People-centred city

Libraries are neighbourhood institutions that anchor community life and bring people together

We support the development of individual wellbeing, safe neighbourhoods and cohesive, engaged and inclusive communities

Social and recreation grants promote individual well-being, safe neighbourhoods and cohesive, engaged and inclusive communities. They also support active and healthy lifestyles through support of recreation and sporting groups

Community housing provides an opportunity for a home and better quality of life for those less well off without unreasonable hardship

Community centres and halls are important anchors in our community. They are a place to gather, strengthen social cohesion, and make the city more appealing place to live

Connected-city

Libraries are places of learning and allow connections with others and the exchange of knowledge

Did you know?

Wellington had New Zealand’s first Library, the Port Nicholson exchange, and Public Library that opened in 1841.

Our key achievements

We continued to work on our libraries which are neighbourhood institutions that anchor community life and bring people together

As part of our “Libris 175” celebrations which marked 175 years of public library service in Wellington, Mayor Wade-Brown unveiled a plaque at the spot near Parliament where a Wellington’s first library - raupo hut - stood. Our Libraries and Community Spaces took part in the first New Zealand Chinese Language Week (September 2015). They hosted a variety of events including language lessons, story time for children, and painting and calligraphy classes. Progress also continued on our Johnsonville Library which is becoming part of the community facilitates hub in Johnsonville. Located on Moorefield Road, near the Johnsonville Community Centre and Keith Spry pool, the renowned Wellington Architects – Athfield Architects – worked with the community on design options. The design chosen has a covered walkway that connects the new library, to the recently renovated Keith Spry Pool, and though to Memorial Park. User satisfaction with library services and facilities has improved.

Measure
2015/16 Actual Performance
2015/16 Target

User satisfaction with Library services and facilities
93%
Improved performance
90%

2014/15 Performance

87%

Source: WCC City Libraries

We improved the use of our Libraries as places of learning that allow connections with others and the exchange of knowledge

We ran a Summer Reading Challenge over the 2015 Christmas holidays. The challenge was for children (aged 5–12) to read and review as many titles as they could from the Challenge booklist. At the same time we ran the ‘Libraries Challenge’ where children were challenged to visit each Wellington library and complete a fun literacy-based activity. This was the fourth summer that the Summer Reading Challenge was held, and each year has seen a growth in awareness and participation. The 2015/16 Summer Reading Challenge had the highest level of participation to date. Other libraries and schools in New Zealand are interested in running similar programmes in their area.

Did you know?

We have a new system for the circulation and management of our library collection. We have replaced the old barcode and electromagnetic system with a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tag in all 800,000 of our collection items. We did this because our existing system was reaching the end of its useful life and repair of the supporting equipment was difficult with spare parts not readily available. RFID provides greater customer self-service, and allows our staff to focus on valued-added services such as community outreach, programmes and reader’s advisory.

We continued to undertake community advocacy to support the development of individual well-being, safe neighbourhoods and cohesive, engaged inclusive communities.

We have a strong interest in ensuring the city’s social infrastructure is robust and responsive to local needs. We achieve this by supporting and building community resilience and advocate to ensure the city’s most vulnerable are supported. For example, we take a “Zero Tolerance” approach to loneliness in our communities. The importance of this work has been highlighted with the tragic deaths of residents found undiscovered (for some time) in their homes. We established a cross agency working group to target services to support such isolated people and help identify gaps in their current support. We work with agencies such as Age Concern, the Mental Health Foundation, Neighbours Day Aotearoa, Wesley Community Action and St Vincent de Paul. We established an ongoing drop-in service for residents at our Dixon St flats, where one of these deaths happened. We also worked with the St Pauls apartment’s body corporate to put on a Neighbours Day event-getting to know your neighbours-in response to the death of a long-term tenant.

We continued to work with partner organisations, such as the Police and Housing New Zealand to improve community outcomes in Strathmore Park. A long-term plan for the rejuvenation of Strathmore Park was developed using a community led engagement process. The plan identified a need for a local community space - to enable services and programmes to be developed and delivered locally. We plan to have this in place by August 2016.

Over the year we welcomed new refugee families into Wellington. All new arrivals were given a Council welcome pack – translated into relevant languages. The welcome pack included an introduction to the city, council services and community facilities. We also continued to develop excellent working relationships with the Red Cross and other councils in our region, to enable a joined up response to the needs of new refugees.

We undertook innovative work to better understand begging and address residents’ concerns about the increase of begging on our streets. The purpose of the project was to develop a community approach to stop street begging. During the project we spoke with people who beg as well as residents, retailers, the police, and social services agencies. The project concluded the underlying national issues that lead to begging need addressing, and a joined up approach to street management was needed.

We built on our commitment to end homelessness by continuing to fund the objectives of the community driven collaboration – Te Whakamura Ai te Ahi. We also increased resources to our street outreach team. A new strategic leadership group, chaired by our Mayor, was established to end street homelessness in Wellington by 2020.

Our community focussed work in the inner city included a number of community activities. We established an Inner City Liaisons Forum for community organisations to focus on and align approaches to inner city community issues. We continued to develop central-city-based initiatives in partnership with the Police, residents and retailers. This included a community garden on Bond Street –an ongoing project seeking to build neighbourliness in the area.

We continued our focus on projects to improve accessibility, and worked with the Blind Foundation on placing sensors throughout the city. These sensors will provide real-time geospatial information, which can be accessed by a smartphone app, to assist the blind, and vision impaired, to safely navigate around the city.

We also continue to support accessibility through our City Mobility project. A joint initiative with TSB Bank, City Mobility provides free mobility scooters to help people get around and enjoy Wellington. A second mobility scooter site was recently added at Wellington Railway Station. Our partnership with the Halberg Trust has resulted in a free beach wheel chair which can be hired from the Freyberg Pool in Oriental Bay. We are still below our target in relation to our Accessible Wellington Action Plan initiatives, but we have made progress since 2014/15.

Measure
2015/16 Actual Performance
2015/16 Target

Accessible Wellington Action Plan initiatives planned for next year.
85%
Did not achieve
90%

2014/15 Performance

77%

Source: WCC City Communities

Did you know?

As part of our Urban Agriculture programme we have supported 40 groups who have joined the Guardian Fruit tree programme this year. These groups will be planting round 120 fruit trees across the city. We have over 30 community gardens, a well-established network of community orchards and the first urban farm was set-up last year.

As part of our Growing Your Neighbours programme we worked with the community to record their stories. This programme started as #wellynextdoor, you can check out the website here: http://www.wellynextdoor.co.nz/

Community story-telling ensures important memories and stories stay in our collective memory and can be shared with future generations. The programme has continued to grow and connect Wellingtonians in the inner city. In particular, it connects residents in apartments reducing social isolation that often results from the transient nature of apartment living.

Case study

#wellynextdoor

The #wellynextdoor programme is helping our city become a safer and nicer place to live by connecting Wellingtonians and increasing communication between neighbours.

A group of third-year Massey University students worked with the Council’s Community Services team to create a project that would help neighbours get to know each other in an organic, genuine and spontaneous way. The result was #wellynextdoor, which included the theme “peg up your stories”. We asked residents to share a story about their neighbours on our special postcards – how they met or interacted – and this provided a catalyst for other people to meet their neighbours. The students turned a selection of these stories into animated videos, which are on the Council’s website and #wellynextdoor website.

The #wellynextdoor recording caravan gave Wellingtonians the opportunity to share their stories about what they enjoyed most about Wellington. In the lead-up to Anzac Day 2016, people were encouraged to record their memories and experiences of New Zealand’s contribution to the wars. MP Nuk Korako told of his “journeys of remembrance” to places the 28th Māori Battalion fought in World War II – a special trip for family members of the soldiers. The collection of these stories means that they won’t fade from our collective memory and can be used to educate future generations, and remember those who served.

We continued to provide social and recreation grants to promote individual well-being, safe neighbourhoods and cohesive, engaged and inclusive communities. They also support active and healthy lifestyles through support of recreation and sporting groups

Our grants continued to support our city wide network of community centres. Over the year we supported local organisations with 80 grants totalling $290,332. This figure included 28 grants under $500 through our Neighbours Day Aotearoa Fund, and support for local residents associations and community projects.  We also provided some organisations with multi-year contract funding to support the delivery of community services26 .

Our Pools Partnership Fund supported local schools by increasing the total available pool capacity and providing aquatic programme opportunities throughout the city. As a result Wellington East Girls College and Rewa Rewa School have started upgrading their pools. Berhampore and Kilbirnie Schools also received support for facility improvements, and Newtown and Kahurangi Schools started planning for building work and refurbishment in 2016/17.

Our Sportsville Partnership Feasability Fund also supported the Worser Bay Boating Club, and Wellington Tennis Incorporated (Renouf Tennis Centre). They are developing plans to ‘hub’ sport facilities in the city.

This year we added two new focus areas to our community grants projects to support community resilience and the settlement of refugees in the city.  Building our social resilience is part of our Resilience Strategy which is a key focus area in our Long-term plan 2015–25.

We made progress providing community housing and better quality of life for those less well off without unreasonable hardship

We provided affordable housing for nearly 4,200 tenants from low-income households that would otherwise have struggled to make their homes in the city. The majority of our tenants are satisfied with our housing services and facilities, and overall condition of their house.

Measure
2015/16 Actual Performance
2015/16 Target

Percentage of tenants satisfied with housing services and facilities.
94%
Improved performance
90%

2014/15 Performance

94%

Source: WCC Tenant Survey 2016

Measure
2015/16 Actual Performance
2015/16 Target

Percentage of tenants rating of the overall condition of their house/apartment (good and very good)
96%
Improved performance
90%

2014/15 Performance

95%

Source: WCC Tenant Survey 2016

Our City Housing Upgrade Project is the largest local government led social housing redevelopment project undertaken in New Zealand. With co-funding from central government and oversight from the Treasury and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, we are working (this is the 8th year in a 20 year programme) to upgrade 2,300 homes at a cost of $400 million. We are on track with the 20 year programme agreed with Treasury. During the year we continued construction of the Kotuku Apartments and commenced site works for the Arlington Site 2 Apartments. At Arlington Site 2 we adopted a partnering approach with both architects and construction companies that resulted in a design build agreement and an innovative modular design for Arlington Site 2. This is a first for social housing in New Zealand, the design of the ten four storey blocks provides flexibility to reconfigure the unit sizes as demand changes. Demolition of the existing buildings started in March 2016 and the project is scheduled for completion in late 2018. A detailed business case for the Arlington Site 1 development was presented to Council’s Community Sports and Recreation Committee. The reconfiguration and refurbishment of Kotuku Apartments was a more traditional two phase approach. Phase I blocks were reoccupied in May/June 2015, and Phase II was completed in July 2016 and is now fully occupied.

Over the year we continued to work closely with Housing New Zealand (HNZ) at both a national and regional level to make best use of knowledge and resources. This included sharing tenancy management. We also continued to support HNZ by leasing to them some of our low-demand units for their tenants whose homes were being upgraded. Our housing effort has been recognised and we won both the regional and national New Zealand Institute of Architects Award for Marshall Court (Miramar) in the multi-unit residential category. The Marshall Court flats also won the Winstone Wallboards Residential Award at the New Zealand Commercial Project Awards. In addition, eight of our staff were recognised as Certified Housing Professionals by the Australasian Housing Institute for professionalism in social housing.

We ran a strength-based community development programme alongside the housing upgrade to help increase social capital and community spirit and pride within City Housing communities. We continued to deliver a wide range of programmes focused on tenant wellbeing and increasing inclusiveness and connectedness. This included tenant led celebrations of Chinese New Year, Neighbours Day and Matariki. More than 70 of our tenants attended our Tenant Forum on maintenance and repairs. More of our tenants reported positive social contact over the year.

Measure
2015/16 Actual Performance
2015/16 Target

Housing Services tenants who report positive social contact
94%
Improved performance
N/A

2014/15 Performance

94%

Source: WCC Tenant Survey 2016

We continued to create safe and attractive communal areas, such as Hobart Park, Booth Street, Daniell Street and Darwin Street in Karori. In addition, over 80 tenants volunteered to become kaitiaki – tenant leaders who put in thousands of hours each year to help improve their communities. We partnered with the NZ Fire Service and Police to promote fire safety at Berkeley Dallard Apartments.

We also identified a number of Special Housing Areas (SHA) where we offer a streamlined resource consent process through the Housing Accords and Special Housing Act (HASHAA). SHA qualifying developments must be predominantly residential and low rise (under six storeys or 27 metres high). This will help us increase the number and range of housing options in Wellington.

We have undertaken work on our community centres and halls which are important anchors to our community – a place to gather and strengthen cohesion

We began the year by planning for upgrades of community facilities in Aro Valley Centre and Newtown. We also supported the establishment of new community centres in Seatoun and in Berhampore, working in partnership with Berhampore School and Housing New Zealand (at Centennial Flats). Occupancy rates for our community facilities are falling because demand is variable. The figures in the table below represent all seven of our community spaces. The majority of the other community spaces are near full capacity during the popular times, which includes the afterschool period, mornings and evenings. However, some bookings are only for 6 to 8 months preventing other users from booking for the full year, though casual users are always welcome. Our Linden Community Centre is also a difficult space to fill because of its location.

Measure
2015/16 Actual Performance
2015/16 Target

Percentage of occupancy rates of community centres and halls
39%
Did not achieve
45%

2014/15 Performance

34%

Source: WCC City Communities

Our performance

Quality and usage of library services and community centres and halls: Physical visits to our libraries decreased from last year and were below our target. This decline was largely a result of under reporting of door counter units (since resolved through our new RFID exit gates), closure of the Newtown Library for 3 months maintenance, and our on line services (such as making payments, reserving books, and borrowing ebooks and magazines). The number of library items issued increased from last year but did not meet our target. The increase over the year was a result of increased availability and usage of our eBook collection. We didn’t meet our target largely because of continued declining issue rates for DVDs and CDs as more download and streaming options become available in the marketplace. Over the coming year we will review the viability of continuing to provide CD collections as the decline has accelerated faster than we had projected. User satisfaction with library services and facilities increased from last year and was above our target. Web site visits along with e-library user satisfaction increased over the year and numbers were above our targets. Occupancy rates for our community centres and halls (excluding the ASB Sports Centre) increased from last year but we didn’t meet our target. This was largely because of the variable demand for space over the calendar year – which often prevents weekly bookings.

Quality and usage of housing services: We exceeded our targets for tenant satisfaction with services and facilities and the overall condition of their houses. Residents’ rating of the overall condition of houses was higher than last year. Our occupancy rate of available houses is also above our target. We achieved all of our milestones for our Housing Upgrade Project with the Crown. Further detail can be found in the section ‘Measuring our Performance’.

Finances

How it was funded

Services in this activity are funded through a mixture of general rates and user charges.

What it cost 2015/16

Operating
Expenditure
($000)
Actual
2016
Budget
2016
Variance
2016
Actual
2015

5.2.1 Libraries ¹

Expenditure
21,129
20,843
(286)
20,635

Revenue
(1,452)
(1,590)
(138)
(1,542)

Net Expenditure
19,677
19,253
(424)
19,093

5.2.2 Access support (Leisure Card)

Expenditure
102
105
3
56

Revenue
-
-
-
-

Net Expenditure
102
105
3
56

5.2.3 Community Advocacy

Expenditure
1,329
1,279
(50)
1,487

Revenue
(9)
-
9
(11)

Net Expenditure
1,320
1,279
(41)
1,476

5.2.4 Grants (Social and Recreation)

Expenditure
3,643
3,643
-
2,749

Revenue
(23)
-
23
(19)

Net Expenditure
3,620
3,643
23
2,730

5.2.5 Housing ²

Expenditure
22,294
25,540
3,246
24,500

Revenue
(34,256)
(43,272)
(9,016)
(35,866)

Net Revenue
(11,962)
(17,732)
(5,770)
(11,365)

5.2.6 Community centres and halls

Expenditure
3,248
3,201
(47)
3,010

Revenue
(364)
(231)
133
(281)

Net Expenditure
2,884
2,970
86
2,729

Capital
Expenditure
($000)
Actual
2016
Budget*
2016
Variance
2016
Actual
2015

5.2.1 Libraries ³

Expenditure
4,566
4,948
382
2,255

Unspent portion of budget to be carried forward
N/A
950
-
N/A

5.2.5 Housing ⁴

Expenditure
14,940
14,888
(52)
19,167

Unspent portion of budget to be carried forward
N/A
15,505
-
N/A

5.2.6 Community centres and halls

Expenditure
146
154
8
19

Unspent portion of budget to be carried forward
N/A
-
-
N/A

* The capital expenditure budget consists of the LTP amount plus the carry forward from 2014/15.
1 Over budget due to lower revenue and higher labour costs.
2 Under budget due to the timing of the recognition of the Crown grant for the Housing Upgrade Project.
3 Under budget due to delays with the Johnsonville Library upgrade and development work on the Library computer system.
4 Under budget due to delays in the Housing renewal programme and the Housing upgrade at the Arlington complex.

5.3

Public health and safety

Hauora tūmatanui me te haumanu

We work to protect Wellingtonians from threats to their health and safety

What we do and why

Public confidence in the safety of the city’s streets and suburbs is a top priority. Wellington has a reputation for being a safe city with a vibrant CBD, which we wish to retain. Wellington’s location makes earthquake-preparedness particularly important, though the city is also at risk of other civil emergencies, such as flooding and tsunamis. We have legislative obligations to maintain public health standards by regulating food and liquor outlets, animals, trade waste and managing environmental noise problems. We also provide public toilets, cemeteries and crematorium services as a vital public health function.

Our activities include:

Burials and cremations - cemeteries at Karori and Makara with a crematorium at Karori Cemetery

Public toilets - 70 public toilets, beach and sportsfields changing rooms/pavilions

Public health regulations - Regulating food and alcohol, animal, trade waste and managing environmental noise issues. and responding to environmental nuisance complaints

City safety - Maintaining WHO Safe City accreditation and providing a ‘city hosts’ service, managing graffiti and supporting community initiatives

Wellington Regional Emergency Management Office (WREMO)

Over the year these activities contribute to the following outcomes:

Outcome
Outcome statement

People-centred city

Cemeteries provide sensitive and respective bereavement services catering for a wide range of communities and beliefs

Public toilets are located conveniently throughout the city protecting residents from health hazards

Legislative public health regulations protect us from a variety of public health hazards

City safety activities promotes individual wellbeing, safe neighbourhoods and a safer inner city

Wellington Regional Emergency Management Office and Rural Fire works with all sectors of the community to ensure we are well-prepared for earthquakes and other natural disasters

Did you know?

The City Council Cemetery records date back to 1849, including the records from the Bolton Street Cemetery, now Bolton Street Memorial Park.

Our key achievements

We undertook work in our Kaori and Makara cemeteries and continued to provide services for a wide range of communities and beliefs

We completed earthquake strengthening on the two chapels (including the crematorium building) and the staff depot building at Karori Cemetery. We also replaced the cemeteries cremator unit and added more gardens to the Seaforth Memorial Gardens. At Makara Cemetery, we added new headstone beams in several of the denominational sections.

We improved public toilets located conveniently throughout the city protecting residents from health hazards

We undertook maintenance work on some of our public toilets. In addition, we improved our response rate to requests and exceeded our targets for cleanliness and maintenance.

Work continued on legislative public health regulations to protect residents from a variety of public health hazards

We engaged with the hospitality industry around the changes arising from the Food Act which came in effect on 1st March 2016.

We have 1933 active Health Licences which included food premises of all types, hairdressers, swimming pools, funeral homes and animal boarding establishments. Food premises such as restaurants, cafes, takeaways, caterers, butchers, delicatessens and fishmongers totalled 1175. Of these 1175 premises, 514 held an excellent grade. There were eight cleaning notices issued to premises during the course of the year and two premises were issued closure. This compares to one closure and 17 cleaning notices in 2014/15.

To help customers apply for their food and alcohol licences, we have also put a large number of our application forms online.

We exceeded our target for the percentage of inspections of medium, high and very high risk premises (alcohol licensed premises) that were carried out during peak trading hours. However our performance was lower than 2014/15. This is because of the change in performance criteria as a result of the enactment of Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act 2012. This change resulted in an increase of 190 inspections over the year.

For the 2015/16 year more peak time inspections were carried out but resulted in a lower percentage in relative terms because of the significant increase in the number of premises in the criteria.

During the year we consulted with residents on the review of our animal bylaw and dog policy.

We undertook a number of city safety activities to promote individual wellbeing, safe neighbourhoods and a safer inner city

Our Local Hosts celebrated their third anniversary. As city ambassadors, the hosts were busy on the streets, helping increased numbers of tourists, assisting at events and festivals and being on hand to support city centre users including students and other young people. Over the year the team extended its reach to the waterfront and continued to visit the suburbs, concentrating on Kilbirnie and Newtown. Our hosts helped identify city hotspots and worked with the Police, social sector and other agencies to assist people in need, sharing relevant information to achieve an integrated approach.

Case Study

Local Hosts – Customer Service

Our Local Hosts are on the streets of Wellington 7 days and 4 nights a week, helping people with directions and information, and checking in with retailers. One of the most important functions they perform is linking homeless people with social services.

They also deal with abuse and violence regularly, and are often the first people on the scene when people need assistance. One of our Local Hosts received a Safety in the City award in October after helping to save the life of a person under the influence of drugs.

While it’s not always high drama, the Local Hosts’ job requires them to engage with everyone – from helping tourists with directions through to working with door staff to make sure people get home safely and preventing incidents from escalating. They also have a relationship with Police, and have assisted them in locating people wanted for arrest.

Working with the justice sector and community organisations such as the Red Cross, we continued to be a key partner in a city wide project aimed at reducing family violence. We have also developed a pilot project focussed on refugee and migrant communities due to begin in the 2017 financial year. Our innovative ‘Eyes On’ partnership with the Police and city retailers made significant progress. The project was expanded from Cuba Street into the wider CBD and Johnsonville. Pharmacies became the latest group to join the scheme, which now has approximately 350 members.

We launched our new volunteer graffiti removal programme “Blank it Out”.  The aim of the programme is to increase the amount of graffiti removed from private property, at the same time as encouraging more community ownership and pride.  Recruiting individual residents to volunteer, as well as neighbourhood groups, businesses, schools, and service organizations and clubs is a key component of this programme.  “Blank it Out” is an effective way to engage clusters of volunteers in ongoing graffiti clean-up, rather than just a one-time paint out. This initiative will also help keep targeted locations graffiti-free. Volunteers commit to activities ranging from spotting and reporting graffiti, to coordinating local removal projects. People can register as an individual or as part of an existing community group, and there are no minimum time requirements or expectations. We exceeded our response rate target for graffiti removal.

Measure
2015/16 Actual Performance
2015/16 Target

Response times for graffiti removal
85%
Improved performance
80%

2014/15 Performance

New Measure in Long-term plan

Source: WCC City Communities

We supported the Zeal Education Trust to trial the Youth Host initiative. This project saw a team of youth workers out in the CBD from 8pm to 1am on Friday nights connecting with young people and the wider community. During its pilot period, between May and October 2015, Zeal’s Youth Host team spent 155 hours over 31 nights working with detached youth.  Following the success of the pilot project the Youth Host team have continued their work in Wellington’s CBD on Friday nights.

We supported several other initiatives focussed on improving safety within the city including the establishment of the Pasifika Community Patrol, Suburban Community Patrols, and Safer Places. We also worked closely with Police to deliver specific safety campaigns such as the successful window shoppers campaign to reduce theft from cars in the CBD.

We continued to work with the WREMO to ensure we are well-prepared for earthquakes and other natural disasters.

Our emergency Welfare Team continued to work to prepare us for a future emergency and to ensure people and animals have the support they need in a civil defence emergency. We updated the Emergency Preparedness Poster to include the new Wellington Water Ltd recommendations for the amount of water to be stored in preparation for an emergency. This poster was developed in collaboration with community stakeholders and shows alternative Drop, Cover, Hold options for people with accessibility and mobility issues. The poster is largely pictorial and can easily be understood by a wide range of people including culturally and linguistically diverse communities. We partnered with the Citizens Advice Bureau to support our welfare registration and volunteers process in case of an emergency. We have identified over 45 buildings that could potentially be used as welfare assistance centres during an emergency event. These centres will provide assistance for people and animals in an emergency, for example food, accommodation and connecting to Work and Income. Lastly, we continue to provide welfare support for people during localised emergencies in Wellington.

Case study

Supporting student learning on graffiti vandalism

In 2013 we created a new position within Community Services – Graffiti Programme Advisor. This role’s responsibilities include devising and implementing a Graffiti Vandalism Management Plan. This plan would encourage collaboration with the Police and wider community to prevent acts of graffiti vandalism and interrupt its potential as a “gateway” crime.

In the first months of the plan’s development, the Graffiti Programme Advisor was contacted by the Head of Geography at Rongotai College. They asked if the Council would support their Year 12 class with a student-driven assignment to understand the geographic spatial pattern of graffiti vandalism within the Wellington urban area. The assignment would also contribute to overall NCEA marks for Level 2 Geography. With a commitment to taking a preventative approach (one of the four key pillars of the overall management plan), a partnership with the college began, which has continued every second school term since 2014.

This school term, the Council supported the students’ learning through a field day, which included meeting with Police and City Arts, and a walking tour through Wellington by the Inverlochy Art School to understand the difference between Council-commissioned graffiti art and graffiti vandalism.

In June, four students presented to the Community, Sport and Recreation Committee on behalf of the 40 Year 12 students involved. They told Councillors how they had used the history of graffiti alongside data provided via the Council’s Stop Tags database of graffiti hotspots to decipher for themselves the patterns and possible reasons for them. This inquiry-based learning encouraged the boys’ own critical thinking, which was spot on. As one student reported to the Committee: “We were able to pick Hine’s brain heaps and she was able to confirm our thoughts on why graffiti was in some places and not others.”

The partnership work with Rongotai College has also been documented within a teaching resource, “Geography in Focus”, a guide for issues-based learning co-authored by Louise Richards. The Council will continue to support this programme for as long as required, to help students better understand graffiti, the reasons it occurs and the impact it has on Wellington.

Our performance

Quality and usage of public health and safety services and programmes

Our response to urgent requests from the public, and the cleanliness and maintained state of our public toilets met or exceeded their targets. Our response rate to urgent requests exceeded our performance last year. We achieved our target for peak trading hour inspections of high risk premises although this figure declined from last year. Further detail can be found in the section ‘Measuring our Performance’.

Finances

How it was funded

Services in this activity are funded through a mixture of general rates and user charges.

What it cost 2015/16

Operating
Expenditure
($000)
Actual
2016
Budget
2016
Variance
2016
Actual
2015

5.3.1 Burials and Cremations

Expenditure
1,626
1,648
22
2,310

Revenue
(764)
(803)
(39)
(816)

Net Expenditure
862
845
(17)
1,494

5.3.2 Public Toilets ¹

Expenditure
3,048
2,661
(387)
2,614

Revenue
-
-
-
-

Net Expenditure
3,048
2,661
(387)
2,614

5.3.3 Public Health Regulations

Expenditure
5,188
5,276
88
4,675

Revenue
(3,266)
(3,211)
55
(3,089)

Net Expenditure
1,922
2,065
143
1,586

5.3.4 City Safety

Expenditure
2,791
2,674
(117)
2,234

Revenue
(51)
-
51
(46)

Net Expenditure
2,740
2,674
(66)
2,188

5.3.5 WREMO

Expenditure
1,394
1,337
(57)
1,322

Revenue
(20)
(43)
(23)
(34)

Net Expenditure
1,374
1,294
(80)
1,288

Capital Expenditure ($000)
Actual
2016
Budget*
2016
Variance
2016
Actual
2015

5.3.1 Burials and Cremations ²

Expenditure
445
446
1
173

Unspent portion of budget to be carried forward
N/A
300
-
N/A

5.3.2 Public Toilets ³

Expenditure
295
295
-
865

Unspent portion of budget to be carried forward
N/A
-
-
N/A

5.3.5 WREMO ⁴

Expenditure
72
95
23
-

Unspent portion of budget to be carried forward
N/A
-
-
N/A

* The capital expenditure budget consists of the LTP amount plus the carry forward from 2014/15.
1 Over budget due to higher depreciation costs.
2 Under budget due to delays in replacing the cremator at the Karori Cemetery.
3 Under budget due to delays in works on Hataitai softball and Kelburn park pavilions.
4 Under budget due to asset purchases being lower than expected.

Social and recreation – overall summary

Some progress was made in this activity area. Customer satisfaction with our housing services and facilities is high, as is utilisation of the ASB Sports Centre and pools. However, there is room for improvement – there have been a number of delays to capital projects and feedback on the usage of some of our facilities needs to be factored into future planning.

23 WCC Parks and Recreation

24 WCC City Housing

25 WCC Residential Monitoring Survey

26 Our list of grants can be found at http://wellington.govt.nz/~/media/services/community-and-culture/funding/files/social-and-recreation-fund.pdf?la=en

6 Urban Development

Tāone Tupu Ora

Preserving Wellington as a compact, vibrant and attractive city, now and into the future

BY THE NUMBERS

205,199

Wellington’s population forecast for 2016
and an increase from 200,000 in 2014. 27

Urban development – at a glance

Outcomes
Connected-city
People-centred city
Eco-city
Dynamic-city

Relevant LTP objectives

“Investing to grow” through establishing a programme of major projects that grow the economy and deliver returns on investment;

Investing to maintain and improve existing services, including making infrastructure more resilient and the city’s transport system more efficient;

Increasing the use of existing assets rather than spending on new infrastructure;

Improving asset management practices to better manage risk and the timing of asset replacement; and

Achieving ongoing efficiencies from shared services and improved customer experiences.

LTP key activities
Urban planning, heritage, and public spaces (including waterfront development).
Building and Development control.

Relevant LTP projects
Urban regeneration; Urban regeneration agency; Protecting Wellington’s heritage buildings; City resilience; Revitalising Civic precinct and strengthening Town Hall; Cheering up streets and laneways; Waterfront Development Plan and Frank Kitts Park; and Medium density housing.

Operational expenditure
Operational expenditure (as per financial summary).

The Council’s urban development work includes urban planning, controlling building activity and land use, assessing risks from earthquake-prone buildings, and developing and enhancing public spaces. We provide public spaces and infrastructure, and regulate to plan and control development so the city can support a strong economy and a high quality of life, in an environment that is both attractive and sustainable. All of this work involves partnerships with developers and home owners who want to build or extend, with commuters going to and from work or school, with businesses taking goods to market, and with everyone who lives, works and plays in the city.

Our work helps to make Wellington a compact, vibrant, attractive city in which it is easy to get from place to place, whilst also reducing adverse effects on the environment. This work is crucial for ensuring people’s health and safety in the buildings they live and work in, and in the public spaces they use. It is also vital for the environment, because a city with a smaller carbon footprint produces fewer emissions and consumes fewer resources.

We fund these services because they matter to the lives of individual Wellingtonians, and to the community as a whole. They help to protect the most vulnerable people, keep people safe and healthy, and strengthen communities. These activities also provide opportunities for people to live healthy lifestyles, to reach their potential, and to enjoy themselves.

Did you know?

We now have a Wellington eDistrict Plan. The ‘ePlan’ replaces the original 3 folder hard copy of the District Plan and the online version that comprised up to 150 separate PDF documents. The ePlan means you can now filter the District plan based on the property you are enquiring about. You can check it out here: http://eplan.wellington.govt.nz/#!Start.

6.1

Urban planning, heritage and public spaces development

Whakahaerenga whare me te whanaketanga

Wellington is a compact, vibrant, attractive and safe city – and we want to keep it that way

What we do and why

Urban planning provides guidance on how and where the city should grow. It’s important this retains the things residents like about Wellington, its compactness, the “heart” around the city centre and harbour, and the character of its hillside residential areas.

The Council is required to prepare a District Plan under the Resource Management Act 1991. The District Plan is the main document used for managing land use and development within the Council’s territorial boundaries.

We also look after public spaces, including the waterfront. Development of public spaces enhances people’s enjoyment of the city and contributes to our civic pride and ‘sense of place’.

Our activities include:

Planning and policy development

Waterfront development

Public space and centres development

Built heritage development

Over the year these activities contribute to the following outcomes:

Outcome
Outcome statement

People-centred city

The waterfront offers safe open spaces that welcome and engage people encouraging them to stay

Heritage buildings contribute to the city’s distinct identity and enhance its sense of place

Dynamic-city

Public spaces are important and provide accessible opportunities for relaxation, recreation and leisure for residents and visitors. High quality developments make the city a more attractive place to be

Eco-city

Urban planning is focussed on intensive urban development and alongside our urban containment policies are designed to prevent sprawls and enhance our transport and lifestyle choices

Did you know?

Wellington was ranked as the 12th most liveable city in the world by the 2016 Mercer Quality of Living Index.

Our key achievements

Work continued on the waterfront as part of our City Shaper to provide safe open spaces that welcome and engage people encouraging them to stay

As part of the proposed redevelopment of North Kumutoto and Frank Kitts Park, the Environment Court granted resource consent (to Willis Bond and the Council) for the development of a building at site 10 (10 Waterloo Quay), and for the North Kumutoto public space. In May 2016 a ground breaking ceremony was held for site 10 and construction commenced in June 2016. The detailed design for the North Kumutoto public space is underway with construction to commence in October 2016. Completion of the building and public space is planned for mid-2018.

During the year work continued on the design for the proposed redevelopment of Frank Kitts Park. The redevelopment includes renewal of the children’s play area, development of a recreation and events friendly “Harbour Lawn”, and the incorporation of a long-planned Chinese Garden. We continued liaising and coordinating with the Wellington Chinese Garden Society in regard to fundraising initiatives for the Chinese Garden. A resource consent application was lodged and public submissions made during June 2016.

External re-cladding of the TSB Bank Arena building to address weather tightness issues was also completed. The southern end of the building was altered to provide a small retail kiosk and public toilet facility. An overwhelming majority of residents rate their waterfront experience as good or very good.

Measure
2015/16 Actual Performance
2015/16 Target

Percentage residents who rate their waterfront experience as good or very good
92%
Improved performance
90%

2014/15 Performance

94%

Source: WCC Residents’ Monitoring Survey 2016

We completed work in public spaces that are important and provide accessible opportunities for relaxation, recreation and leisure for residents and visitors

August 2015 marked the completion of our $11 million project to revitalise the southern end of Victoria Street (between Dixon and Abel Smith streets). Transformation of the street to provide vibrant public spaces and essential underground services also supports long-term investment in the area.

Cable Car Lane is one of Wellington’s most visited tourist destinations and receives approximately 1.2 million visitors per year. To highlight the significance of this historic feature, and to create a better visitor experience, we worked with the Wellington Cable Car Ltd. and local property owners to upgrade the lane. The work makes Cable Car Lane more visible, improves access to the cable car, and improves ventilation and natural lighting. Designs were developed and consulted on during early 2016 and demolition of the existing canopy started in June 2016. To reduce disruption to the public and local businesses, works to the laneway were timed to coincide with the first major upgrade to the cable car.

Lombard Lane and Denton Park are being revitalised to create a more attractive pedestrian environment and support local businesses. During 2015/16 we developed detailed designs, in consultation with the public, for better surfaces, lighting and greenspaces. Tender and delivery of this project will occur during 2016/17 to allow works on the adjacent Victoria Street development (Cook Strait Properties) to be substantially complete.

We also undertook the following smaller laneway activation projects throughout the city:

Eva and Leeds streets - located in the Cuba Street area these streets are home to a number of apartment buildings and emerging local businesses. The upgrade, completed in December 2015, included lighting, street paint, and planting to celebrate the laneways’ rich local heritage.

Masons Lane - an important pedestrian link between Lambton Quay and The Terrace, this pathway has been given feature lighting, a living green wall, timber cladding, paving work and an intensive deep-clean. Launched in December 2015, the upgrade also saw the introduction of a digital art screen to showcase temporary video works by local artists.

Bond Street - located in the central business district, Bond Street received a refresh in May 2016 consisting of a fresh coat of street paint, new “parklet” seating area, and the addition of a community garden space.

Egmont Street – also near Cuba Street, Egmont Street was revitalised with artworks, improved lighting and surfaces, street furniture and greening during 2016.

Cuba Connection - improvements in the form of lighting and “greening” to create a more inviting pedestrian environment, and improve safety, were completed in July 2016.

Garret Street and Swan Lane - concept designs were developed to create vibrant public spaces and reinforce key pedestrian connections either side of Cuba Street. Designs will be further developed in consultation with the local community for construction in 2016/17.

The majority of residents agree the central city is lively and attractive.

Measure
2015/16 Actual Performance
2015/16 Target

Percentage of residents who agree the central city is lively and attractive
85%
Did not achieve
87%

2014/15 Performance

86%

Source: WCC Residents’ Monitoring Survey 2016

Did you know?

Through our Urban Activation Fund we did the following:

We installed cycle parking hoops at twelve locations within Wellington CBD, Kilbirnie and Newtown.  The brightly coloured hoops add a bit of fun to the street and allow cyclists to secure their bikes against theft or tipping over in strong winds

We worked with local artist John Fuller and Kilbirnie-based metal fabricators AE Tilley to develop feature signage to highlight the western entrance to Miramar and Maupuia

We installed a ‘Honeycomb’ greenwall, developed by local designers Pollen, on Egmont Street to bring some much needed greenery to the CBD

We launched the Bond Street community gardens with a “Garden Party” event featuring music, children’s entertainment, worm farm making, plant giveaways and environmental activities.  The community gardens provide a space for local residents and volunteers to grow and tend fruit trees, herbs and vegetables 

We gave Plimmer Steps a facelift with a deep clean, refurbished planting and fresh coat of paint on the Brig Gertrude fountain

Urban planning is focussed on intensive urban development and alongside our urban containment policies are designed to prevent sprawls and enhance our transport and lifestyle choices

To help increase housing supply we are identifying SHAs. These are areas where we can offer qualifying developments a streamlined resource consenting path (through the Housing Accords and Special Housing Act. To date we have created four tranches of SHAs – comprising 25 areas. These areas focus on our existing growth areas or are sites already zoned for residential development. Focussing in these areas ensures development is planned and contained within the overall urban area and provides for a range of housing types. During 2015/16 we approved a further four SHAs, including Shelly Bay, where we expect a high quality housing and mixed use development to be lodged in 2016. Our ‘Housing Choice and Supply’ programme will also help to provide additional affordable houses and different housing options in areas close to shops, community facilities and services, and public transport. In 2015/16 we consulted with five different communities as part of this programme. We already have medium density housing areas in Kilbirnie and Johnsonville and are currently prioritising Newlands and Tawa.

Building Our Resilience

Wellington has been selected as one of the Rockefeller Foundation 100 Resilient Cities (100RC). Under the 100RC arrangement, Wellington is provided with support to develop a Resilience Strategy, and to commence implementation. 100RC provides support to the value of $US1 million to the City for this purpose, although not all of this support goes directly to Council. The strategy development process is public-facing and involves several sectors of the community as well as our partners GWRC, Hutt City Council and Porirua City Council. A Steering Group of experienced Wellingtonians provides oversight to the strategy development process.

Progress on the strategy will be considered by Council in September 2016, and the strategy approved by February 2017.  The strategy will build on four areas of focus: earthquake recovery, adapting to sea level rise, quality of life and economic prosperity.  Rather than replicating the substantial work that is already underway in these areas, the strategy aims to augment that work, and to boost existing efforts. Once developed, 100RC will provide support for the initial implementation of the Strategy.

The strategy is consistent with our Long-term plan’s commitment to improve Wellingtons resilience: investing to maintain and improve existing services, including making infrastructure more resilient and the city’s transport system more efficient.

The types of resilience activities undertaken during 2015/16 includes operational and new capital projects; capital renewals (e.g. including upgrades to infrastructure such as our roads, tunnels and bridges in order to maintain existing levels of service); seismic assessment of key Council-owned buildings (including earthquake strengthening of the Town Hall, Central Library and Council offices which forms part of the revitalisation work we are carrying out on the Civic Precinct); planning for emergency response and restoration of key life line, and planning for hazards and climate change.

Our performance

Quality of our urban planning, heritage and public spaces: We exceeded our target for residents satisfied with their waterfront experience, although the number was lower than last year. We did not meet our target for residents who agree the central city is lively and attractive, and the figure was slightly lower than last year. Our residents don’t agree our suburban centres are lively and attractive and we were significantly below target on this issue. We will continue to work with residents on projects such as our Business Improvement Districts to improve suburban centres. Further detail can be found in the section ‘Measuring our Performance’.

Finances

How it was funded

Services in this activity are funded through a mixture of general rates, fees and charges, and grants and subsidies.

What it cost 2015/16

Operating
Expenditure
($000) 
Actual
2016
Budget
2016
Variance
2016
Actual
2015

6.1.1 Urban Planning and Policy

Expenditure
2,089
2,277
188
1,667

Revenue
(25)
(20)
5
(13)

Net Expenditure
2,064
2,257
193
1,654

6.1.2 Waterfront development ¹

Expenditure
1,618
933
(685)
-

Revenue
(299)
39
338
-

Net Expenditure
1,319
972
(347)
-

6.1.3 Public spaces and centres development

Expenditure
2,136
2,169
33
2,437

Revenue
2
-
(2)
(167)

Net Expenditure
2,138
2,169
31
2,270

6.1.4 Built heritage development ²

Expenditure
1,264
1,498
234
863

Revenue
-
-
-
-

Net Expenditure
1,264
1,498
234
863

 Capital Expenditure ($000)
Actual
2016
Budget*
2016
Variance
2016
Actual
2015

6.1.1 Urban Planning and Policy

Expenditure
-
-
-
-

Unspent portion of budget to be carried forward
N/A
-
-
N/A

6.1.2 Waterfront development ³

Expenditure
3,348
3,350
2
2,466

Unspent portion of budget to be carried forward
N/A
5,478
-
N/A

6.1.3 Public spaces and centres development

Expenditure
2,049
848
(1,201)
16,466

Unspent portion of budget to be carried forward
N/A
1,020
-
N/A

* The capital expenditure budget consists of the LTP amount plus the carry forward from 2014/15.
1 Over budget due to professional fees incurred on several major projects.
2 Under budget due to lower than anticipated labour and contract costs.
3 Under budget largely due to delays in the refurbishment of TSB/Shed 6 and Frank Kitts Park development.

6.2

Building and development control

Māherehere tāone, whanaketanga wāhi tuku-ihotanga, wāhi tūmatanui

We ensure developments do not harm the environment and that building works are safe and comply with the Building Code

What we do and why

We control building and development work according to the provisions of the Building Act, and the District Plans developed under the Resource Management Act. These controls are necessary to ensure that buildings are safe and compliant with the Building Code that resources are used sustainably for future generations, and that public health and safety is protected. They’re also needed to protect urban character and to preserve the city’s heritage.

We also have a statutory requirement to administer an Earthquake-prone Buildings Policy. The policy sets out processes to identify buildings that are below the required earthquake standards, and the requirements and timeframes for building owners to bring them up to the necessary standard.

Our activities include:

Building control and facilitation (building consents)

Development control and facilitation (resource consents)

Earthquake risk mitigation – built environment

Over the year these activities contribute to the following outcomes:

Outcome
Outcome statement

People-centred city

Under the Building Act and codes we protect public health and safety, and protect future users of land and buildings

Under the Resource Management Act and District Plan, we control work to ensure resources are used sustainably, public health and safety, and to protect future users of land and buildings. It also protects urban character and preserves the city’s heritage

Wellington’s high earthquake risk means this work is critical. It protects public safety, as well as preserving the city’s heritage and the economic investment made in buildings and infrastructure

Eco-city

We promote intensive development, rather than sprawl into green spaces, and encourage the greening of streets, buildings and places

Did you know?

The value of commercial building consents has consecutively increased over the last 3 years. The value of commercial space in 2013/14 was $271 million and is $359 million in 2015/16.

Our key achievements

We worked on the Building Act and codes to protect public health and safety, and protect future users of land and buildings

Working with central government, we lodged submissions to the following policy and proposed legislative changes: Rules Reduction, Fencing and Swimming Pools, and Licensed Building Practitioners Board. We also help other building consent authorities – Auckland, Christchurch, Kapiti, Wanganui and Westland – by providing inspections and/or consenting services.

Did you know?

We have retained our Building Consent Authority Accreditation since 2010/2011.

Wellington’s high earthquake risk means this work is critical. It protects public safety, as well as preserving the city’s heritage and the economic investment made in buildings and infrastructure

We continued our work to make Wellington safer through earthquake risk mitigation work. We did this by issuing notices to earthquake-prone buildings under the Building Act. At the end of this year we had 663 earthquake-prone buildings. The owners of two of these buildings are challenging the issuing of the notice through the determination process in the Building Act 2004. As these determinations are challenging the issuing of an earthquake prone building notice, further issuing of notices during 15/16 was put on hold pending a final decision on both determinations. The determinations upheld our process however both determination decisions are now being challenged in the courts. We are currently preparing our response to both court appeals. New legislation has been passed by Parliament and is awaiting commencement, which is expected to occur in June 2017.  The legislation introduces a new standardised process for the assessment and management of earthquake-prone buildings that all councils will need to adopt.

Under the Resource Management Act and District Plan we controlled work to protect the urban character and preserve the city’s heritage

Our Built Heritage Incentive Fund helps owners of buildings on the District Plan heritage list, or within heritage areas, maintain their buildings. The fund has $3 million to allocate over 3 years. A total of 15% of the fund is reserved for conservation-specific work and 85% for work related to earthquake strengthening. Through the fund we supported 24 projects with $980,000 of grants, these included: St Mary of the Angels on Boulcott Street, the Quaker Meeting House in Mt Victoria, buildings within the Cuba Street area, and other conservation projects28 .

Did you know?

Resident’s perceptions that heritage items contribute to the city’s character was 86% in 2014 and increased to 92% in 2016. Residents perceptions that they contribute to a local communities character was 67% in 2014 and 72% in 2016.29

We also funded the seismic restoration of the chimney on the historic Overseers Cottage at the Botanic Garden, and the grave and memorial restoration programme for Bolton Street Cemetery.

Our performance

Timeliness of building and development control services: We exceeded our targets for investigating excessive noise complaints and monitoring of resource consents. These results were however lower than last year. We met our targets to issue non-notified resource consents and sub-division consents in statutory timeframes, and actioned environmental complaints within 48 hours. Our performance was consistent with last year. We didn’t meet targets to issue building consents, codes of compliance and LIMs within statutory timelines. The timeliness of our building consents was lower than last year because numbers increased in the second half of the year and coincided with a period of recruitment and training of new staff. The timeliness for our codes of compliance was the same as last year. Over the year we issued 2139 codes of compliance with 74 not issued in the statutory timeline, of these 19 were historical issues that have subsequently been fixed. We are improving monitoring systems to improve our performance. Our LIMs performance improved since last year – a good result in light of the high volumes of requests. We were above our target for monitoring resource consents within 3 months of work commencing on site, although our performance was not as good as last year. Whilst the requirement to notify us of work starting on site is a condition of consent, we are not always notified. We often pick these up when the building consent is lodged for the work.

Quality of our building and development control services and progress on earthquake mitigation: The majority of our customers were happy with our building control services and we exceeded our target for this measure. This reflects the effort we put into helping our customers through their building consent and associated processes. None of our earthquake prone building notifications were successfully challenged over the year. Further detail can be found in the section ‘Measuring our Performance’.

Finances

How it was funded

Services in this activity are funded through a mixture of general rates and fees and charges.

What it cost 2015/16

Operating
Expenditure
($000) 
Actual
2016
Budget
2016
Variance
2016
Actual
2015

6.2.1 Building Control and Facilitation ¹

Expenditure
13,570
13,809
239
12,542

Revenue
(9,251)
(9,152)
99
(8,972)

Net Expenditure
4,319
4,657
338
3,570

6.2.2 Development Control and Facilitation

Expenditure
5,807
5,981
174
5,685

Revenue
(2,552)
(2,899)
(347)
(2,367)

Net Expenditure
3,255
3,082
(173)
3,318

6.2.3 Earthquake risk mitigation - built environment ²

Expenditure
1,323
1,710
387
1,823

Revenue
-
-
-
-

Net Expenditure
1,323
1,710
387
1,823

 Capital Expenditure ($000)
Actual
2016
Budget*
2016
Variance
2016
Actual
2015

6.2.3 Earthquake risk mitigation - built environment ³

Expenditure
2,224
2,175
(49)
4,036

Unspent portion of budget to be carried forward
N/A
5,287
-
N/A

* The capital expenditure budget consists of the LTP amount plus the carry forward from 2014/15.
1 Under budget due to higher building consent revenue and lower labour costs.
2 Under budget due to lower costs of grants and professional advice.
3 Under budget due to delays in the Earthquake Strengthening Programme, in particular the St James Theatre.

Urban development – overall summary

Progress was made towards this activity area in year one of the LTP. Importantly, customer satisfaction improved for our building control services which improves investment confidence and boosts economic gains. To maximise these benefits, improvements are needed to timeframes for issuing building consents. Significant improvements were made through the activation of city laneways. There were, however, delays to capital expenditure projects due to an underestimation in actual project costs. We need to improve in this area. Our activities in this area, once we have approved and begun to implement our Resilience Strategy, have the potential to make a greater contribution to the achievement of our outcomes in the future.

27 Long-term plan 2015-25.

28 See: http://wellington.govt.nz/services/community-and-culture/funding/council-funds/built-heritage-incentive-fund .

29 WCC Residents’ Monitoring Survey 2016

7 Transport

Waka

Delivering an efficient and safe transport system that connects people and spaces

BY THE NUMBERS

9,621 and 55,120

Number of cyclists and pedestrians entering the Central Business District during the week. This compares to 10,515 and 54,319 in 2014/15.

Transport – at a glance

Outcomes
Connected-city
People-centred city
Eco-city
Dynamic-city

Relevant LTP objectives

“Investing to grow” through establishing a programme of major projects that grow the economy and deliver returns on investment;

Investing to maintain and improve existing services, including making infrastructure more resilient and the city’s transport system more efficient;

Increasing the use of existing assets rather than spending on new infrastructure;

Improving asset management practices to better manage risk and the timing of asset replacement; and

Achieving ongoing efficiencies from shared services and improved customer experiences.

LTP key activities
Transport.
Parking.

Relevant LTP projects
Better transport options; Vehicle network.

Operational expenditure
Operational expenditure (as per financial summary).

The Council’s transport work includes transport planning, managing the city’s assets and network of roads, cycleways and walkways, managing parking in the city and promoting safety.

Our work is essential for people’s ability to interact with each other, and their enjoyment of the city and what it has to offer. It is necessary for the economy, the ability of businesses to reach their markets, and to promote collaboration and innovation.

7.1

Transport

Waka

We manage the transport network so it is sustainable, safe and efficient

What we do and why

Wellingtonians are the highest users of public transport in New Zealand and between 200,000 and 300,000 people use some form of the city’s transport network daily. Among other things, our transport network offers Wellingtonians bridges, tunnels, bus shelters and approximately 18,000 street lights.

An effective public transport network helps reduce congestion and the city’s carbon emissions. A high proportion of residents walk and cycle to work, thereby reducing private vehicle usage.

Our activities include:

Transport planning – we plan for an efficient transport system that allows people and goods to move freely within and throughout the city

Vehicle network – we provide 684 kilometers of road, 54 road bridges (road and pedestrian), 5 tunnels and 2,397 walls

Passenger transport network - we provide 450 bus shelters, 1,323 bus stops and bus lanes on key bus routes

Pedestrian and cycle network - we provide 24.3 kilometers of cycle ways, 858 kilometers of pedestrian paths, and 132 kilometers of handrails, guardrails and sight rails

Road safety - we provide 21,499 signs and 111 traffic signals

These activities contribute to the following outcomes:

Outcome
Outcome statement

People-centred city

The transport, vehicle, cycle, passenger transport, pedestrian, network control system and road safety activities provides people with accessible and safe transport choices, from their homes to shops, for work, recreation and pleasure

Connected-city

The transport, cycle, vehicle, pedestrian and network control system networks provide accessible and safe transport choices that connect people with each other and with places locally, nationally and internationally, including for commerce and trade

Eco-city

The transport, passenger transport, cycle, pedestrian networks and network control systems reflect our commitment to sustainable, safe and efficient transport choices

Dynamic-city

Our transport, passenger, pedestrian and cycle network that allows easy movement of people and goods is vital for business and a significant competitive advantage

The vehicle, passenger transport and cycle network provide for easy and affordable movement to and around the central city

Did you know?

We continued our ‘business as usual’ work which saw us:

Respond to over 37,250 requests for service in relation to drainage, street lighting, minor flooding, street and footpath cleaning, litter, recycling, minor maintenance to seats, bins and cycle racks, requests for new items as well as clearing berms, road side vegetation and slips

Renew over 22 kilometres of footpath, nearly 11.5 kilometres of kerb and channel and repair or replace nearly 7.5 kilometres of handrails and safety rails

Resurface 59.1 kilometres of road carriageway

In our capacity as the Road Controlling Authority we processed over 6,400 Corridor Access Requests and 3,700 Traffic Management Plans

Install, refurbish or repair approximately 250 seats, 175 litter bins, 30 bollards and 50 cycle racks

Along with nearly 70 kilometres of centrelines and broken yellow lines we replaced 53 accessibility park symbols, 70 pedestrian crossing diamonds, 750 cycling related road markings, 1,000 direction arrows and 300 ‘Give Way’ symbols

Our key achievements

We provided a transport, vehicle, cycle, passenger transport, and pedestrian network giving people accessible and safe transport choices, from their homes to shops, for work, recreation and pleasure

We carried out work in a number of areas in the city including:

Bidwell Street road carriageway and stormwater pipes where heavy rains in April/ May 2015 caused the bank to fail and the road’s support to be undermined

Kaori Road (between Flers and Lancaster Streets), where we built a retaining wall, moved overhead services underground to improve motorist visibility, and installed new handrails and LEDs to make the area safer for residents

Island Bay seawall where strengthening was required as a result of storm damage. This repair work ensures the wall is more resilient to future heavy seas and storm events, and was undertaken to respect the heritage significance of the seawall

The Drive, Tawa where we replaced a pedestrian bridge, constructed a new retaining wall, and renewed the handrail and footpath area

Breaker Bay Road where residents were experiencing disruptions from frequent storms and high swells in April/May 2015. A long-term solution in the form of a rock revetment structure was constructed to minimise wave damage and protect the carriageway, kerb, channel and footpath

In addition to the above we built new retaining walls in Khandallah, Horokiwi, Takapu Valley and Takarau Gorge, and renewed bridges or retaining walls in Karori, Ohariu Valley, Strathmore, Miramar, Johnsonville, Highbury and Brooklyn.

Through our CCO – Wellington Cable Car Ltd – we provided accessible and safe transport choices.

Wellington Cable Car Limited

The Wellington Cable Car Limited (WCCL) was formed in April 1991 in response to legislation that prevented a local authority from owning and operating the Cable Car as a transport activity.

Relevant Council outcomes

People-centred city
The transport, vehicle, cycle, passenger transport and pedestrian networks, the network control system, and road safety activities provide people with accessible and safe transport choices, from their homes to shops, for work, recreation and pleasure

Key activities

The company owns and operates Wellington’s iconic Cable Car passenger service. Its passengers include local residents (commuters and students) and domestic and international visitors to Wellington. This operation is financed from passenger fare income and any additional revenue developed from WCCL and Wellington City Council tourism-related activities. Ongoing marketing initiatives are seen as a key part of the future success of the Cable Car. This also includes potential further investment in retail, merchandising and event hosting activities (such as weddings)

Trolley bus traction services by means of the overhead electrical network for use by Trolley Buses in Wellington are provided under contract from GWRC, using Broadspectrum (rebranded name for Transfield Services Limited) as the maintenance services provider. This operation is financed from payments by GWRC on a cost recovery basis, to cover planned maintenance, reactive defect rectification and progressive replacement of severely degraded sections of the overhead electrical network. This also includes:

Infrastructure-related activities undertaken within Wellington on a profit-making basis, namely:

Projects initiated by parties other than GWRC requiring the overhead electrical network to be relocated and/or modified (for example, the Victoria University Pipitea campus construction project

Protection of the trolley bus overhead electrical network from damage by escorting high loads through the city and protection of parties requiring safe access in proximity to overhead lines by electrical de-energisation

Maintaining WCCL’s pole network funded via a combination of support from GWRC and pole user charges from telecommunications companies using WCCL’s poles to support their broadband networks

Key achievements

The transport, vehicle, cycle, passenger transport and pedestrian networks, the network control system, and road safety activities provide people with accessible and safe transport choices, from their homes to shops, for work, recreation and pleasure

The Cable Car earned a record high total revenue for the year

The trolley bus traction services division completed the roll-out of the Trolley Bus overhead protection project and the decommissioning of the Hataitai Loop

2015/16 Financial Information

Operational Grant: nil
Capital Grants: $1,509,011 for the cable car electric drive replacement project

Interesting Fact
2015/16 Actual Performance
2015/16 Target

Total Passengers
1,044,804
Improved performance
1,010,905

2014/15 Performance

976,416

Source: Wellington Cable Car Ltd

We provided a transport, cycle, vehicle and pedestrian network giving accessible and safe transport choices that connect people with each other and with places locally, nationally and internationally, including for commerce and trade

We undertook improvements work on a major section of road in Johnsonville – the Johnsonville Triangle Upgrade. This project means less traffic congestion in the town centre and reduced peak-hour queues on the State Highway 1 off-ramp. It provides safe and easy walking and cycling routes, more reliable bus journey times, and boosted the local economy by encouraging commercial and residential growth. The upgrade also sets the scene for rejuvenation of the Johnsonville Mall.

The work included: a two-lane off-ramp from State Highway 1; new traffic lights at Fraser Avenue and Gothic Street; additional pedestrian crossings and facilities; replacing the Broderick Road / Moorefield Road bridge over the railway lines with a longer and wider bridge to allow for cycle lanes and future train options, and cycle lanes and a path for cyclists and pedestrians to by-pass the two northern roundabouts and connect local schools.

It also provided options for better bus flow around the Johnsonville triangle (Johnsonville, Moorefield, Broderick roads), and the installation of a new bus shelter at the stop in the mall. Broderick and Johnsonville roads were resurfaced in March/April 2016.

To ensure a safe and resilient transport network we strengthened the Hataitai Bus Tunnel and Aotea Quay Bridge portals. We also replaced the joints on the northbound lane of the Aotea Quay Bridge.

We undertook work to ensure our pedestrian and cycle networks reflects our commitment to sustainable, safe and efficient transport choices

WCUCP aims to create a sustainable, liveable and attractive city, offering choices about how to travel, with an appealing cycle network that encourages people of all ages and abilities to cycle. The WCUCP was adopted in September 2015 and extends to Ngauranga, central city, eastern suburbs, and Island Bay. The method and level of community engagement on the Island Bay cycleway resulted in significant unease that impacted on other projects in the WCUCP, and confidence in Council’s ability to deliver the WCUCP. A review of the WCUCP commissioned by New Zealand Transport Authority (NZTA) made a series of recommendations for change. Working with NZTA we are refreshing the cycle way programme and our engagement process with the community.

We replaced 12 old poles and street lights in Cuba Mall (between Ghuznee and Dixon Streets) with seven brighter and more energy efficient LEDs. The seven new poles were repositioned to reduce the impact on pedestrians, businesses and footpath use. The LEDs are more energy efficient and improve the level of lighting. Replacement poles were also lower which reduced light pollution and improved the streets amenity - the poles no longer protruded past the visual canopy of the trees. Our residents are less satisfied with street lighting and we are below our targets.

Measure
2015/16 Actual Performance
2015/16 Target

Residents satisfied with street lighting in central city and suburbs
Central City 78%
Suburban Areas 54%
Did not achieve
Central City 85%
Suburban Areas 75%

2014/15 Performance

Central City 80%
Suburban Areas 55%

Source: WCC Residents’ Monitoring Survey 2016

We supported 10 projects with $29,220 through the Communities on Bikes Fund which included a range of projects which promote cycling as a mode of transport such as Frocks on Bikes (A la Carless) and Lucid Dream Bikes (Bicycle festival of lights and motion). Three schools received funding for Bikes in School Tracks - Hampton Hill School, Amesbury School and Houghton Valley School.

In addition, to better integrate our transport network with our urban spaces we obtained an exemption for the NZTA Road Traffic Rules so we could add key city personalities to our pedestrian crossing signals. As a result we have a silhouette of Kate Sheppard installed around Parliament and the Railway Station, a local celebrity Carmen Rupe in the Cuba Mall area and pioneering businessman John Plimmer in Lambton Quay around Plimmer Steps and Featherston Street.

Our performance

Quality and timeliness of transport infrastructure and services: Whilst we achieved our level of service standards, we failed to meet our target for the percent of residents who consider roads and footpaths good or very good. This reflects re-prioritisation of maintenance/ renewal work and a decline in levels of service over a contract transitional period. We failed to meet our response rate target for urgent and non-urgent work but our levels of service for urgent responses are the same as last year. The percentage of our major roads that meet national street lighting standards was below target. In each of the above measures there were minor variations in our performance from last year. Our resident’s satisfaction with street lighting in the city and suburbs was below our target and our performance last year. We exceeded our target for the percentage of roads that meet compulsory smooth roads standards, although our performance was lower than last year. This is likely to be a result of activities such as the installation of telecommunication services in our roads and changing road maintenance priorities.

Further detail can be found in the section titled ‘Measuring our Performance’.

Finances

How it was funded

Services in this activity are funded through a mixture of general rates, fees and charges and grants and subsidies received from NZTA for transport related activities.

What it cost 2015/16

Operating
Expenditure
($000)
Actual
2016
Budget
2016
Variance
2016
Actual
2015

7.1.1 Transport Planning ¹

Expenditure
1,412
1,144
(268)
1,309

Revenue
(153)
(86)
67
(132)

Net Expenditure
1,259
1,058
(201)
1,177

7.1.2 Vehicle network ²

Expenditure
22,408
22,645
237
21,579

Revenue
(4,830)
(1,322)
3,508
(3,594)

Net Expenditure
17,578
21,323
3,745
17,985

7.1.3 Cycle network ³

Expenditure
1,291
1,660
369
705

Revenue
(263)
(36)
227
(8)

Net Expenditure
1,028
1,624
596
697

7.1.4 Passenger transport network ⁴

Expenditure
2,632
1,721
(911)
1,260

Revenue
(922)
(951)
(29)
(1,057)

Net Expenditure
1,710
770
(940)
203

7.1.5 Pedestrian network ⁵

Expenditure
6,303
6,548
245
6,027

Revenue
(144)
(39)
105
(57)

Net Expenditure
6,159
6,509
350
5,970

7.1.6 Network-wide control and management ⁶

Expenditure
6,658
6,799
141
6,356

Revenue
(2,346)
(2,055)
291
(2,057)

Net Expenditure
4,312
4,744
432
4,299

7.1.7 Road safety ⁷

Expenditure
5,924
6,095
171
6,303

Revenue
(1,671)
(1,601)
70
(1,747)

Net Expenditure
4,253
4,494
241
4,556

Capital Expenditure ($000)
Actual
2016
Budget*
2016
Variance
2016
Actual
2015

7.1.2 Vehicle network ⁸

Expenditure
22,319
23,399
80
29,895

Unspent portion of budget to be carried forward
N/A
2,111
-
N/A

7.1.3 Cycle network 9

Expenditure
3,288
3,289
1
2,428

Unspent portion of budget to be carried forward
N/A
2,384
-
N/A

7.1.4 Passenger transport network ¹⁰

Expenditure
368
(369)
(737)
123

Unspent portion of budget to be carried forward
N/A
514
-
N/A

7.1.5 Pedestrian network ¹¹

Expenditure
3,966
4,225
259
3,746

Unspent portion of budget to be carried forward
N/A
355
-
N/A

7.1.6 Network-wide control and management ¹²

Expenditure
2,536
2,772
236
2,397

Unspent portion of budget to be carried forward
N/A
32
-
N/A

7.1.7 Road safety ¹³

Expenditure
2,715
2,412
(303)
2,803

Unspent portion of budget to be carried forward
N/A
39
-
N/A

* The capital expenditure budget consists of the LTP amount plus the carry forward from 2014/15.
1 Over budget due to higher labour costs and unplanned legal expenses.
2 Under budget due to vested assets revenue and savings on depreciation, following the revaluation of infrastructure assets.
3 Under budget due to underspending on cycleways planning (delays) and savings in depreciation.
4 Over budget due to the upgrade of the Cable Car electric drive unit (not in the LTP budget however subsequently approved during the year). This is partially offset by higher bus shelter income (digital advertising, savings on other grant costs and reduced maintenance due to bus stop signs and shelter maintenance now with GWRC.
5 Under budget due to vested asset income and savings on depreciation following revaluation of infrastructure assets.
6 Under budget due to higher income in network activity and lower costs on road markings maintenance.
7 Under budget due to reduced labour costs and some increased income in the street lighting area.
8 Under budget due to the Southern Corridor road maintenance contractor not completing all of the work programme. In addition there is an underspend of $1.1m identified for the Northland Tunnel project.
9 Under budget due to limited works in the Central area and none undertaken in the eastern area. Projects will need to wait until the outcome of the “Let’s get Wellington moving” project.
10 Over budget due to additional consulting costs associated with the Ngauranga to Airport quick wins programme. NB. Funding for this work was not in the LTP budget however was subsequently approved.
11 The under spend is due to the Southern Corridor maintenance contractor not completing all of the work programme.
12 The under spend is due to the Southern Corridor maintenance contractor not completing all of the work programme in traffic and street signs renewals.
13 Over budget due to the civil works component of the Cuba Mall lighting renewal project being greater than planned, a higher incidence of light pole failures and higher labour costs.

7.2

Parking

Ratonga tūnga waka

Parking in the CBD is important for shoppers, tourists, and those working in and visiting the city

What we do and why

We provide around 10% of the parking in central Wellington. This consists of approximately 12,000 on-street parking spaces, of which 3,500 are in the central business district, along with some off-street parking and street spaces for taxis, couriers, people with disabilities, bus stops and diplomatic services. We also manage off-street parking at Clifton Terrace, the Michael Fowler Centre and beneath Civic Square.

Over the year these activities contribute to the following outcome:

Outcome
Outcome statement

People-centred city

Central city car and motorbike parking is important for shoppers, workers, visitors, and people visiting the city for recreation activities

Parking also allows goods to be picked up and delivered throughout the city

Parking helps make Wellington a liveable prosperous city

Our key achievements

We have undertaken a variety of work to provide parking for shoppers, workers, visitors, and people visiting the city for recreation activities

We have continued to update our parking technology and access to parking services to help visitors to the city. Improvements include installation of parking sensors, improved payment methods, and an on-line permit application service.

Measure
2015/16 Actual Performance
2015/16 Target

On street car parking average occupancy
78%
Improved performance
75%

2014/15 Performance

80%

Source: WCC Parking Services

Our Parking Services Team continued to play an important role in large scale city events and community driven initiatives. Events in the 2015/16 year included Newtown Festival, Round the Bays, CubaDupa, Anzac Parade, and All Blacks tests. Our focus is to maintain a balance between ambassadorial work at on-street events, and enforcement requirements, whilst ensuring the safe movement of vehicles and pedestrians throughout the city. We also assisted residents’ use of the city by processing in excess of 10,000 service requests from members of the public requiring a Parking Officers support. We issued approximately 4,500 residents parking permits and in excess of 2,000 other general parking permits.

Measure
2015/16 Actual Performance
2015/16 Target

Percentage of residents perceptions that parking enforcement is fair
48%
Did not achieve
Increase on previous year

2014/15 Performance

50%

Source: WCC Residents’ Monitoring Survey

We strengthened our relationships with the NZTA and New Zealand Police. This collaborative effort focussed on addressing both driver and parking behaviours through joint operations in hot spots throughout the CBD.

Our performance

Quality of parking provision: Turnover rates for on-street parking were below our target and last year’s performance largely due to an increase in parking demand. Fewer of our residents perceive parking enforcement as fair. Further detail can be found in the section ‘Measuring our Performance’.

Finances

How it was funded

Services in this activity are funded through a mixture of general rates, fees and user charges.

What it cost 2015/16

Operating
Expenditure
($000)
Actual
2016
Budget
2016
Variance
2016
Actual
2015

7.2.1 Parking

Expenditure
12,262
13,404
1,142
11,218

Revenue
(26,442)
(27,455)
(1,013)
(25,642)

Net Revenue
(14,180)
(14,051)
129
(14,424)

Capital Expenditure ($000)
Actual
2016
Budget*
2016
Variance
2016
Actual
2015

7.2.1 Parking

Expenditure
1,342
1,389
47
89

Unspent portion of budget to be carried forward
N/A
60

N/A

* The capital expenditure budget consists of the LTP amount plus the carry forward from 2014/15.

Transport – overall summary

Despite community concern and delays over our cycleway project, progress was made towards this activity area. However, residents have concerns with the condition of roads and footpaths, street lighting in suburban areas and the re-surfacing of local roads. Some of our capital projects were either under budget due to delays or budget underestimates. Some of this is because of factors we have no control over e.g. electricity network failures. Improvements to this important area will allow us to better achieve our outcomes in the future.

Measuring our performance

Understanding our Performance

The following section explains our performance for our performance measures and outcome indicators in the Long–term plan 2015-25. Percentage point explanations for performance measures are provided for measures with a significant (10+) variance from target in the Percentage points tables on page 131.

Key Performance Measures
1 Governance

Performance measure
2013/14
2014/15
2015/16
Actual
2015/16
Target
Actual difference /Difference in % points*

1.1 Governance, information and engagement

To measure the quality of the public’s involvement in Council decision-making

Residents (%) satisfaction with the level of consultation (i.e. the right amount)
44%
53%
53%
55%
(2)

Residents (%) who are satisfied or neutral (neither satisfied nor dissatisfied) with regard to their involvement with decision-making
70%
74%
59%
75%
(16)*

To measure the quality and timeliness of residents’ access to information

Council and committee agendas (%) are made available to the public within statutory timeframes (two working days prior to the meeting)
100%
100%
94%
100%
(6)

Council and committee agendas (%) that are made available to elected members five days prior to the meeting and to the public four days prior to the meeting
59%
65%
91%
80%
11*

Residents (%) who agree that Council information is easy to access (i.e. from web centre, libraries, newspapers etc.)
36%
48%
49%
55%
(6)

Residents (%) who agree that Council website is easy to navigate and get information from
63%
62%
61%
70%
(9)

Contact Centre response times - calls (%) answered within 30 seconds
80%
84%
80%
80%
0

Contact Centre response times - emails (%) responded to within 24 hours
100%
100%
93%
100%
(7)

1.2 Māori and mana whenua partnerships

To measure the health of our relationship with mana whenua

Mana whenua partner satisfaction with Council relationship (satisfied and very satisfied)
Satisfied
Satisfied
Satisfied
Satisfied
N/A

To measure the engagement of the city’s Māori residents

Māori residents (%) who are satisfied or neutral (neither satisfied nor dissatisfied) with regard to their involvement with decision-making
56%
69%
65%
75%
(10)*

* See Percentage points explanation tables

Outcome Indicators
1 Governance

Council outcome indicator
Source
Data (2014, 15 and 16)

Residents (%) who agree that decisions are made in the best interests of the city
WCC RMS 2016
36%
36%
34%

Residents (%) who state that they understand how the Council makes decisions
WCC RMS 2016
30%
35%
33%

Residents (%) who understand how they can have input into Council decision-making
WCC RMS 2016
(New in 2016)
46%

Mana whenua partners agree that the use and protection of the city’s resources for the future is appropriate
WCC Strategy and Research
Both Agree

Both Agree

1 Agreed and
1 Partner was not sure

Residents (%) who believe they have the opportunity to participate in city life
WCC RMS 2016
64%
78%
74%

Voter turnout in local elections, referendums and polls
WCC Democratic Services
2010 39%
2013 41%

Performance Measures
2 Environment

Performance measure
2013/14
2014/15
2015/16
Actual
2015/16
Target
Actual difference /Difference in % points*

2.1 Gardens, beaches and green open spaces

To measure the quality of the open spaces we provide

Residents’ satisfaction (%) with the quality and maintenance of green open spaces - local parks, playgrounds and reserves; botanic gardens; beaches and coastal areas; and walkways
89%
87%
85%
90%
(5)

Number of visitors to the Botanic Gardens (including Otari-Wilton’s Bush)
1,542,535
1,354,681
1,147,067
1,280,000
(132,933)*

To measure the quality of street cleaning services

Residents’ satisfaction (%) with the quality of street cleaning
74%
75%
76%
85%
(9)

Street cleaning (%) compliance with quality performance standards
95%
97%
97%
98%
(1)

To measure the quality and quantity of work we undertake to protect biodiversity

We will plant two million trees by 2020
New in LTP
-
1,345,773
1,389,777
(44,004)

High value biodiversity sites (%) covered by integrated animal pest control or weed control
52%
67%
52%
55%
(3)

Proportion of grant funds successfully allocated (through milestones being met)
97%
100%
100%
95%
5

2.2 Waste reduction and energy conservation

To measure the quality of waste reduction and recycling services

Residents (%) satisfaction with recycling collection services
78%
86%
84%
85%
(1)

Waste diverted from the landfill (tonnes)
18,765 tonnes
18,048 tonnes
17,431 tonnes
16,500 tonnes
931 tonnes

Residents (%) who regularly use recycling (including weekly, fortnightly or monthly use)
60%
61%
96%
90%
6

To measure the quality of our waste disposal services

Residents (%) satisfaction with waste collection services
76%
85%
85%
90%
(5)

Energy sourced from the Southern Landfill (GWh)
7.0GWh
7.6GWh
7.65GWh
8GWh
(0.35GWh)

To measure the amount (quantity) of the Council’s energy consumption and emissions

WCC corporate energy use (including WCC general)

WCC pools and recreation centres WCC CCOs)kWh
21,069,031kWh
18,446,633kWh

6,968,518kWh
20,660,224kWh
19,320,398kWh

7,204,428kWH
19,854,825kWh
22,300,682kWh

6,673,381kWh
(Decrease in energy use from previous year)
805,399
(2,980,284)

531,047

WCC corporate greenhouse gas emissions
First year of trend
N/A
92,832 tonnes
As part of the Low-Carbon Capital Plan all 2020 targets were revised and only 2050 targets were kept)
-

2.3 Water

To measure the quality of water supplied to residents and the services that ensure security of supply

Compliance with Drinking Water Standards for NZ 2005 (revised 2008) (Part 4 bacterial compliance criteria) (Part 5 Protozoal compliance criteria)( Last year we measured/graded the 11 zones of Wellington City’s water supply against A1 target)
100%
Achieved
100%
Achieved
100%
Achieved
100%
Achieved
0

Maintenance of water supply quality gradings from Ministry of Health
Maintained
Maintained
Maintained
Maintain
-

Customer satisfaction with water supply
99%
97%
91%
90%
1

Number of complaints about:
(a) drinking water clarity
(b) drinking water taste
(c) drinking water odour
(d) drinking water pressure or flow
(e) drinking water continuity of supply
(f) responsiveness to drinking water complaints per 1,000 connections*
DIA (New)
DIA (New)
13
Baseline
-

Median response time for:
(a) attendance for urgent call outs
(b) resolution for urgent call outs
(c) attendance for non-urgent call outs
(d) resolution non-urgent call outs*
DIA
DIA

50Mins
2.80 Hours
28.7 Hours
46.35 Hours

60 Mins
4 Hours
36 Hours
15 Days

10 Mins*
1.2 Hours*
7.3Hours*
13.1 Days*

Percentage of real water loss from networked reticulation system
11%
13%
12%
<14%
2

Average drinking water consumption/resident/day
254 litres per resident per day
273 litres per resident per day
369 litres per resident per day
375 litres per resident per day
6 litres per resident per day

Number of unplanned supply cuts per 1,000 connections
New in LTP
-
1.2
<4
2.8*

2.4 Wastewater

To measure the quality and timeliness of the wastewater service

Number of wastewater reticulation incidents per km of reticulation pipeline (blockages)
New in LTP
New in LTP
0.57
<=1.2
0.63*

Dry weather wastewater overflows/1,000 connections*
DIA (New)
DIA (New)
0.55
0
(55)*

Customer satisfaction with the wastewater service
100%
97%
84%
75%
9

Number of complaints about:
(a) wastewater odour
(b) wastewater system faults
(c) wastewater system blockages
(d) responsiveness to wastewater system issues
per 1,000 connections*
DIA (New)
DIA (New)
22
Baseline
-

Median response time for wastewater overflows:
(a) attendance time
(b) resolution time*
DIA (New)
DIA (New)
0.73 Hours
2.35 Hours
<=1 Hours
<=6 Hours
0.27 Hours*
3.65 Hours*

To measure the impact of wastewater on the environment

Breaches of resource consents for discharges from wastewater system. Number of:
- abatement notices
- infringement notices
- enforcement orders
- convictions
for discharges from wastewater system*
New in LTP
-
1
0
1

2.5 Stormwater

To measure the quality and timeliness of the stormwater service

Number of pipeline blockages per km of pipeline
New in LTP
-
0.04
<=0.5
0.46*

Customer satisfaction with stormwater management
100%
95%
68%
75%
7

Number of complaints about stormwater system performance per 1,000 connections
New in LTP
-
12
Baseline
-

Median response time to attend a flooding event
New in LTP

49 Mins
<=60 Mins
11 Mins*

To measure the impact of stormwater on the environment

Breaches of resource consents for discharges from stormwater system. Number of:
- abatement notices
- infringement notices
- enforcement orders
- convictions
for discharges from stormwater system
New in LTP
-
0
0
0

Number of flooding events*
DIA (NEW)
DIA (NEW)
1
Trend only
-

Number of habitable floors per 1,000 connected homes per flooding event*
DIA (NEW)
DIA (NEW)
0.014
Trend Only
-

Percentage of days during the bathing season (1 November to 31 March) that the monitored beaches are suitable for recreational use
85%
93%
100%
90%
10*

Percentage of monitored sites that have a rolling 12 month median value for E.coli (dry weather samples) that do not exceed 1,000 cfu/100ml
New in LTP
-
93%
90%
3

2.6 Conservation attractions

To measure the success of our investments in conservation attractions

Zoo - total admissions
227,434
225,927
260,809
234,713
26,096*

Zealandia - visitors
99,213
97,421
125,849
95,947
29,902*

* See Percentage points explanation tables

DIA (NEW) New Department of Internal Affairs Mandatory Measure

Outcome Indicators
2 Environment

Council outcome indicator
Source
Data (2014, 15 and 16)

Open space land owned or maintained by WCC - total hectares and square metres per capita
WCC Parks, Sport and Recreation
Sqm Per Capita
206sqm
198sqm
188sqm

Hectares
4,213
3,967
3,833

Residents’ usage of the city’s open spaces - local parks and reserves, botanic gardens, beaches and coastal areas, and walkways
WCC RMS 2016
See Reference page Table 1

Residents’ perceptions that the natural environment is appropriately managed and protected
WCC RMS 2016
77%
78%
79%

Hours worked by recognised environmental volunteer groups and botanic garden volunteers
WCC Parks, Sport and Recreation
34,611
43,880
45,009

Water consumption (commercial and residential combined)
Wellington Water
26.4b
26.6b
24.5b Litres

Freshwater biological health (macro invertebrates) - Makara, Karori, Kaiwharawhara and Porirua streams
Greater Wellington Regional Council
See Reference page Table 2

Freshwater quality - Makara, Karori, Kaiwharawhara and Porirua streams (note data for Owhiro Stream not available)
Greater Wellington Regional Council
See Reference page Table 3

Energy use per capita
Wellington Electricity
6.6
6.6
6.6 MWh

Number/sqm of ‘green star’ buildings/space in the city
NZ Green Building Council
141,365m²
141,365m²
19,844m²

Total kerbside recycling collected per capita
WCC Waste Operations
0.060718987
0.059155
0.054597645 Tonnes

Total waste to the landfill per capita
WCC Waste Operations
0.40
0.41
0.41 Tonnes

Selected indicators from the City Biodiversity Index (specific indicators to be confirmed)
WCC Parks, Sport and Recreation
New Biodiversity Index indicators will be confirmed in November 2016

Performance Measure
3 Economic Development

Performance measure
2013/14
2014/15
2015/16
Actual
2015/16
Target
Actual difference /Difference in % points*

3.1 City promotions and business support

To measure the quality of our investments in promoting the city

WREDA - Positively Wellington Tourism partnership funding
50%
46%
48%
Maintain council’s funding at less than 50% of total income
Achieved
(2)

To measure the usage of WCC supported events

Estimated attendance at WCC supported events
670,368
898,968
978,188
500,000
478,188*

To measure the quality of our investments in economic development

Events Development Fund - ratio of direct spend to economic impact
23:1
23:1
25:1
20:1
5:1

The proportion of grant funds successfully allocated (through milestones being met)
N/A
100%
No Reporting in 15/16
95%
-

* See Percentage points explanation tables

Outcome Indicators
3 Economic Development

Council outcome indicator
Source
Data (2014, 15 and 16)

Number of domestic and international visitors (guest nights)
Statistics NZ
Domestic
1,396,402
1,426,141
1,542892

International
686, 692
769,714
743,203

Average length of stay - international and domestic
Statistics NZ
2.12 Nights
2.14 Nights
2.12 Nights

Number of major conferences
WREDA
619
633
599

Number of A-level events held in Wellington and their economic contribution
WREDA
10 - $30.9m
12 - $29.9m
11 – $36.5m

New Zealand’s top 200 companies based in Wellington
Deloitte Top 200 Businesses
21
22
21

Business enterprises - births and growths (net growth in business)
Statistics NZ
0.1%
2.9%
0.4%

Domestic and international airline passengers entering Wellington airport
Wellington International Airport Limited
Domestic:
4,684,000
4,682,000
4,899,000

International:
753,000
775,000
897,000

Free wifi usage (logons/day) - waterfront and central city
Citylink

Trademe
CBD
2,431,247
6,816,785
17,990,606

Waterfront
194,852
142,366
299,844

Pedestrian counts - average of various Lambton Quay sites
WCC Golden Mile Pedestrian Survey 2015
2,069
1,971
2,052

Businesses and employees in research and development sector
Statistics NZ
See Reference Page Table 4

Secondary (international) and Tertiary (international and domestic) students enrolled per 1,000 residents
WREDA
Secondary International Students:
347
363
1080

Tertiary Students per 1000 residents:
3
3
7

Events/activities held with international cities (in Wellington and overseas)
WCC International Relations
76
72
75

Performance Measures
4 Cultural Wellbeing

Performance measure
2013/14
2014/15
2015/16
Actual
2015/16
Target
Actual difference /Difference in % points*

4.1 Arts and culture activities

To measure the quality and usage of our arts and culture support activities

Attendee satisfaction with Council supported arts and cultural festivals
86%
84%
85%
90%
(5)

User (%) satisfaction with Toi Pōneke facilities and services
83%
91%
89%
90%
(1)

Economic contribution ($) the NZ Festival makes to the city’s economy (direct new spend)
$70m
-
$32,092,900
$40m
(7,907,100)*

The proportion of grants funds successfully allocated (through milestones being met)
100%
96%
98%
95%
3

Proportion of outcomes delivered (previous projects - weighted by $ value)
100%
95%
98%
90%
8

Venues subsidy - total number of performers and attendees at supported events
13,878
12,564
113,390
Increase on previous year
Achieved

Cultural grants - % first time applicants who are successful
63%
43%
38%
50%
(12)*

* See Percentage points explanation tables

Outcome Indicators
4 Cultural Wellbeing

Council outcome indicator
Source
Data (2014, 15 and 16)

Residents frequency of engagement in cultural and arts activities
WCC RMS 2016
See Reference Page Table 5

New Zealanders’ and residents’ perceptions that “Wellington has a culturally rich and diverse arts scene”
National Wellington Reputation Survey Results 2016
New Zealand
84%
84%
81%

Residents
89%
91%
92%

Resident perceptions that Wellington’s local identity (sense of place) is appropriately valued and protected
WCC RMS 2016
72%
76%
78%

Events held at key city venues
Positively Wellington Venues
1,689
1,647
958

New Zealanders’ and residents’ perceptions that “Wellington is the arts capital of New Zealand”
National Wellington Reputation Survey Results 2016
New Zealanders
52%
57%
58%

Residents
68%
63%
66%

New Zealanders’ and residents’ perceptions that “Wellington is the events capital of New Zealand”
National Wellington Reputation Survey Results 2016
New Zealanders
31%
34%
36%

Residents
48%
46%
52%

Residents’ (%) agreement with the statement that “Wellington is an easy place to get involved in the arts”
National Wellington Reputation Survey Results 2016
80%
85%
86%

Te Papa visitors - total visitors, overseas visitors and NZ visitors from outside the region
Te Papa – New measure in LTP
Total 1,784,939
Overseas 708,371
NZ outside region 581,986

Customer (%) satisfaction with the NZ Festival
Nielsen - 2016 NZ International Arts Festival Review
2014 87%
2016 91%

Total tickets sold (#) to the NZ Festival and the proportion sold to customers outside the region
New Zealand International Arts Festival
2014 115,892
2016
Excl. **Tattoo 95,000
Tattoo 84,455
Incl. Tattoo 179,455

Proportion sold to out of region
2014 31% (35,927)
2016 Excl. Tattoo 19% (18,050)
Tattoo 63% (53,601)
Incl. Tattoo 40% (71,651)

Total visits to museums and galleries (including Carter Observatory – now called Space Place)
Wellington Museums Trust
601,743
689,414
688,169

Performance Measures
5 Social and Recreation

Performance measure
2013/14
2014/15
2015/16
Actual
2015/16
Target
Actual difference /Difference in % points*

5.1 Recreation promotion and support

To measure the quality and usage (quantity) of the recreation facilities we provide

User (%) satisfaction – swimming pools
82%
85%
88%
90%
(2)

User (%) satisfaction – recreation centres and ASB centre
Recreation Centres
88%

ASB Centre
88%
Recreation Centres
85%

ASB Centre
86%
Recreation Centres
87%

ASB Centre
91%

90%

90%

(3)

1

User (%) satisfaction – sportsfields (including artificial sportsfields)
Grass
83%

Artificial
89%
Grass
78%

Artificial
89%
Grass
42%

Artificial
94%

85%

85%

(43)*

9

Visits to facilities – swimming pools
1,222,725
1,234,283
1,300,700
1,248,000
52,700

Visits to facilities – recreation centres and ASB Centre
321,723
324,878
1,077,573
1,050,000
27,573*

ASB Centre courts utilisation (%)
41%
46%
50%
45%
5

Sportsfields – % of scheduled sports games and training that take place
Winter
78%

Summer
89%
Winter
88%

Summer
99%
Winter
79%

Summer
99%
Winter
80%

Summer
90%

(1)

9

Marinas occupancy
97%
98%
96%
96%
0

Artificial sportsfields % utilisation – peak and off-peak (summer and winter)
Peak Winter
76%

Peak Summer
35%

Off-peak Winter
18%

Off-peak Summer
16%
Peak Winter
68%

Peak Summer
32%

Off-peak Winter
25%

Off-peak Summer
11%
Peak Winter
68%

Peak Summer
36%

Off-peak Winter
15%

Off-peak Summer
10%
Peak Winter
80%

Peak Summer
40%

Off-peak Winter
25%

Off-peak Summer
20%

(12)*

(4)

(10)*

(10)*

5.2 Community support

To measure the quality and usage (quantity) of the housing services we provide

Tenant satisfaction (%) with services and facilities
90%
94%
94%
90%
4

Tenant rating (%) of the overall condition of their house/apartment (good and very good)
89%
95%
96%
90%
6

Tenant (%) sense of safety in their complex at night
78%
78%
75%
75%
0

Occupancy rate of available housing facilities
98%
95%
94%
90%
4

All tenants (existing and new) housed with policy
99%
99%
99%
98%
1

To measure the progress of the Housing Upgrade Project

Agreed milestones, design standards and budgets are met in accordance with the agreed works programme and Deed of Grant between the Crown and the Council
Partially Achieved
Achieved
Achieved
To Achieve
Achieved

To measure the quality and usage (quantity) of our community and recreation support services (including libraries)

Libraries – user (%) satisfaction with services and facilities
83%
87%
93%
90%
3

E-library users satisfaction (%) with the online library collection
78%
84%
85%
75%
10*

Accessible Wellington Action Plan initiatives planned for next year
95%
77%
85%
90%
(5)

The proportion of grants fund successfully allocated (through milestones being met)
100%
100%
100%
95%
5

Proportion of outcomes delivered (previous projects) - weighted by $ value
100%
100%
100%
90%
10*

Libraries – residents (%) who are registered members
74%
77%
79%
75%
4

Libraries – physical visits
2,310,848
2,276,034
2,248,409
2,400,000
(151,591)

Libraries – website visits
2,283,909
3,630,775
3,809,967
2,500,000
1,309,967*

Library items issued
2,952,353
2,902,402
2,923,042
3,000,000
(76,958)

Occupancy rates (%) of Wellington City Council Community Centres and Halls
35%
34%
39%
45%
(6)

5.3 Public Health and Safety

To measure the quality of our public health and safety services and programmes and our timeliness in responding to service requests

Dog control – urgent requests responded to within one hour and non-urgent within 24 hours
Urgent
97%

Non-urgent
99%
Urgent
100%

Non-urgent
99%
Urgent
100%

Non-urgent
100%
Urgent
100%

Non-urgent
99%
Urgent
0

Non-urgent
1

WCC public toilets – urgent requests responded to within four hours and non-urgent within three days
Urgent
100%

Non-urgent
100%
Urgent
99%

Non-urgent
99%
Urgent
100%

Non-urgent
100%
Urgent
100%

Non-urgent
95%
Urgent
0

Non-urgent
5

WCC public toilets (%) that meet required cleanliness and maintenance performance standards
100%
100%
100%
95%
5

Percentage of medium, high and very high risk premises that are inspected annually
100%
100%
100%
100%
0

Percentage of inspections of medium, high and very high risk premises that are carried out during peak trading hours
34%
35%
28%
25%
3

Graffiti removal – response timeframes met
New in LTP
-
85%
80%
5

* See Percentage points explanation tables

Outcome Indicators
5 Social and Recreation

Council outcome indicator
Source
Data (2014, 15 and 16)

Residents’ usage of City Council community and recreation facilities
WCC RMS 2016
Community Centre
20%
22%
20%

Community Hall
19%
19%
21%

Residents’ perceptions that Wellington offers a wide range of recreation activities
WCC RMS 2016
76%
85%
82%

Residents’ frequency of physical activity
WCC RMS 2016
65%
71%
74%

Residents’ perceptions that there are barriers to participating in recreation activities
WCC RMS 2016
See Reference Page Table 6

Residents’ importance of sense of community in local neighbourhood
WCC RMS 2016
2012 – 75%
2014 – 71%
(Biennial Result)

Residents’ usage of libraries and frequency of use
WCC RMS 2016
See Reference Page Table 7

Residents’ engaging in neighbourly actions
WCC RMS 2016
See Reference Page Table 8

Housing Services tenants who report positive social contact
2016 Tenant Survey
88%
94%
94%

Residents’ perceptions - city and community safety issues of most concern
WCC RMS 2016
See Reference Page Table 9

Recorded crime and resolution rates - by categories
NZ Police
*Police changed the way they report crime statistics

Number of notifications of the most prevalent food and water-borne diseases
WCC Public Health
238
207
197

Residents’ life expectancy
Statistics NZ
2012-14
Male 81
Female 84

Food premises - number of cleaning notices and closures per year
WCC Public HealthNew in LTP
Cleaning notices
16
17
8

Closures
3
1
2

Percentage of food premises with an inspection rating of excellent or very good that maintain or improve their inspection rating
WCC Public Health
89%
99%
93%

Number of uses of Leisure Card
Recreation Wellington
122,446
126,316
138,447

Dog control - complaints received (% of registered dogs)
WCC Public Health
30%
22%
24%

Performance Measures
6 Urban Development

Performance measure
2013/14
2014/15
2015/16
Actual
2015/16
Target
Actual difference /Difference in % points*

6.1 Urban planning, heritage and public spaces development (including Waterfront development)

To measure the quality of our urban planning, heritage protection and development work

Residents (%) who agree the city is developing in a way that maintains high quality design
New in LTP
New in LTP
55%
Baseline
-

District Plan listed items that are removed or demolished
Nil
Nil
Nil
Nil
Nil

Residents (%) who agree the central city is lively and attractive
80%
86%
85%
87%
(2)

Residents (%) who agree their local suburban centre is lively and attractive
45%
48%
47%
60%
(13)*

Residents (%) who rate their waterfront experience as good or very good
88%
94%
92%
90%
2

The proportion of grant funds successfully allocated (through milestones being met)
100%
100%
64%
95%
(31)*

Residents (%) who agree heritage items are appropriately valued and protected
60%
64%
69%
65%
4

6.2 Building and Development Control

To measure the timeliness of our building and development control services

Building consents issued within 20 working days
92%
98%
92%
100%
(8)

Code of Compliance Certificates issued within 20 working days
99%
96%
96%
100%
(4)

Land Information Memorandums (LIMs) issued within 10 working days
91%
81%
99%
100%
(1)

Resource consents (non-notified) issued within statutory timeframes
100%
100%
100%
100%
0

Resource consents that are monitored within 3 months of project commencement
98%
99%
97%
90%
7

Subdivision certificates - Section 223 certificates issued within statutory timeframes
100%
100%
100%
100%
0

Noise control (excessive noise) complaints investigated within one hour
99%
98%
96%
90%
6

Environmental complaints investigated within 48 hours
100%
99%
98%
98%
0

To measure the quality of our building and development control services

Customers (%) who rate building control services as good or very good
69%
76%
79%
70%
9

Building Consent authority (BCA) accreditation retention (2-yearly)
Retained
Retained
Accreditation not tested this year
To retain
-

To measure our progress on earthquake risk mitigation

Earthquake prone building notifications (section 124) (%) that are issued without successful challenge
100%
99%
100%
95%
5

* See Percentage points explanation tables

Outcome Indicators
6 Urban development

Council outcome indicator
Source
Data (2014, 15 and 16)

Residents’ perceptions that Wellington is a great place to live, work and play
WCC RMS 2016
Live
89%
96%
95%

Work
62%
63%
66%

Play
88%
93%
90%

Value of residential and commercial building consents
Statistics NZ
Residential
$256m
$246m
$233m

Commercial
$271m
$302m
$359m

Population - growth and density (central city, growth spine)
WCC GIS
As at Census 2013 same data
Central city (people)
11,797

Growth spine (people)
25,301

Residents’ perceptions of the city centre as an easy place to get to, use and enjoy
WCC RMS 2016
See reference Page Table 10

Residents’ perceptions of urban design/urban form safety issues (i.e. graffiti, vandalism, poorly lit public spaces, etc.)
WCC RMS 2016
See Reference Page Table 11

Building density throughout the city
WCC GIS
See Reference Page Table 12

Proportion of houses within 100metres of a public transport stop
WCC GIS
See Reference Page Table 13

Residents’ perceptions that heritage items contribute to the city and local communities’ unique character
WCC RMS 2016
City
86%
92%
92%

Local community
67%
71%
72%

New Zealanders’ perceptions that Wellington is an attractive destination
WCC RMS 2016
80%
78%
81%

Performance Measure
7 Transport

Performance measure
2013/14
2014/15
2015/16
Actual
2015/16
Target
Actual difference /Difference in % points*

7.1 Transport

To measure the quality and timeliness of the transport infrastructure and service

Residents’ condition (%) rating of the network - roads and footpaths (good or very good)
Roads
67%

Footpaths
69%
Roads
66%

Footpaths
71%
Roads
66%

Footpaths
67%
Roads
75%

Footpaths
75%

(9)

(8)

Requests for service response rate - urgent (within two hours) and non-urgent (within 15 days)*
Urgent
84%

Non-urgent
89%
Urgent
96%

Non–urgent
97%
Urgent
96%

Non-urgent
98%
Urgent
100%

Non-urgent
100%

(4)

(2)

Roads (%) which meet smooth roads standards (average quality of ride on sealed local road network, measured by Smooth Travel Exposure based on NAASRA counts)*
76%
77%
75%
70%
5

Footpath (%) condition rating (measured against WCC condition standards)*
DIA (NEW)
DIA (NEW)
97%
97%
0

Street lighting (%) for major roads (arterial, principal and collector roads) meets national standards
93%
97%
97%
100%
(3)

Residents’ satisfaction (%) with street lighting in the central city and suburban areas
Central City
78%

Suburbs
51%
Central City
80%

Suburbs
55%
Central City
78%

Suburbs
54%
Central City
85%

Suburbs
75%

(7)

(21)*

Sea wall and retaining wall condition rating - walls (%) rated 3 or better (1 very good, 5 very bad)
91%
91%
91%
90%
1

Percentage of the sealed local road network that is resurfaced*
DIA (NEW)
DIA (NEW)
9 %
10%
(1)

7.2 Parking

To measure the quality of our parking provision

On-street car park turn-over rates - weekdays and weekends
Weekdays
6.3

Weekends
5.2
Weekdays
6.3

Weekends
4.8
Weekdays
6.1

Weekends
4.7
Weekdays
6.8

Weekends
5.2

(0.7)*

(0.5)*

On-street car park average occupancy
74%
80%
78%
75%
3

On-street car park compliance - time restrictions and payment
Time
93%

Payment
85%
N/A
N/A
Time
95%

Payment
90%
*

Residents’ perceptions (%) that parking enforcement is fair
33%
50%
48%
Increase from previous year
-

* See Percentage points explanation tables

DIA (NEW) New Department of Internal Affairs Mandatory Measure

Outcome Indicators
7 Transport

Council outcome indicator
Source
Data (2014, 15 and 16)

Residents’ perceptions that peak traffic volumes are acceptable
WCC RMS 2016
53%
47%
43%

Residents’ perceptions that the transport system allows easy access to the city
WCC RMS 2016
64%
66%
63%

Residents’ perceptions of quality and affordability of public transport services
WCC RMS 2016
Convenient
68%
70%
69%

Affordable
40%
38%
46%

Air quality monitoring (i.e. nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, and particulate matter peaks)
Greater Wellington Regional Council
See Reference Page Table 14

Change from previous year in the number of road crashes resulting in fatalities and serious injury.* (YTD)
New Zealand Transport Authority
Fatal 3
Serious 57

Fatal 3
Serious 46

Fatal 1
Serious 15

Social cost of crashes (YTD)
New Zealand Transport Authority
Fatal $12,303,000
Serious $43,457,000
Total $79,020,000*

Fatal $12,850,000
Serious $34,590,000
Total $ 69,289,000*

Fatal $4,101,000
Serious $11,391,000
Total $ 20,361,000*
*Excluding minor

Residents’ perceptions of transport related safety issues (i.e. issues of most concern)
WCC RMS 2016
See Reference Page Table 15

Number of cyclists and pedestrians entering the Central Business District (weekdays)
WCC Infrastructure
See Reference Page Table 16

Residents (%) who agree the transport system allows easy movement around the city - vehicle users and pedestrians
WCC RMS 2016
64%
66%
63%

Percentage points explanation tables

1 Governance

1.1 Governance, information and engagement

Measure
Actual difference/
Difference in % points*
Explanation

Residents (%) who are satisfied or neutral (neither satisfied nor dissatisfied) with regard to their involvement with decision-making
(16)
Engagement and consultation on Island Bay Cycleway project impacted on the perception the public has on Council’s decision making process. Council has acknowledged that we could do better in this area and is addressing this issue by re-engaging with the Island Bay community on the cycleway project.

Council and committee agendas (%) that are made available to elected members five days prior to the meeting and to the public four days prior to the meeting
11
Performance against this measure has improved tremendously as we have put systems in place for our staff to meet this measure.

1.2 Māori and mana whenua partnerships

Māori residents (%) who are satisfied or neutral (neither satisfied nor dissatisfied) with regard to their involvement with decision-making
(10)
This year our satisfaction rating dropped a few points. This is a process of engagement and we need to work harder to ensure that Māori are engaged in decision-making.

2 Environment

2.1 Gardens, beaches, and green open spaces

Measure
Actual difference/
Difference in % points*
Explanation

Number of visitors to the Botanic Gardens (including Otari-Wilton’s Bush)
(132,933)
Attendance counters have been made ineffective at times as insects build nests within them causing the counters not to work. With the cruise ship season and summer we just had it should have been well over 1.2m.

2.3 Water

Median response time for:attendance for urgent call outsresolution for urgent call outsattendance for non-urgent call outsresolution for non-urgent call
10 Mins
1.2 Hours
7.3 Hours
13.1 Days
This is a new indicator as mandated by the DIA, with data collection having commenced in the last financial year. According to year end actual the maintenance contractor is preforming better in this indicator than the target. With the limited data currently available, it is difficult to predict or update the annual target at this stage.

Number of unplanned supply cuts per 1,000 connections
2.8/1000
Year-end figure is less than the target due to the low number of unplanned supply cuts in the network. The result for this KPI depends on the amount of reactive work on the water network, the level of which is subject to many variables such as pipe materials & age, ground movement, traffic loading, soil condition etc.

2.4 Wastewater

Number of wastewater reticulation incidents per km of reticulation pipeline (blockages)
0.63
Year-end figure is less than the target due to the low number of pipeline (blockages) in the network. Results for this KPI depend on pipe blockages in the wastewater network which cannot be easily predicted.

Dry weather wastewater overflows/1,000 connections*
55
There have been 37 dry weather network overflows, 33 due to blockages (including one on a private sewage pipe), two due to a broken sewer main, one due to a private property leak and one due to stream erosion under a manhole. One overflow occurred at the Moa Point Treatment Plant in September due to a power failure. Work on capacity and demand issues is continuing across the network through investigations, planning, maintenance and upgrades. Network Dry Weather overflows: 37 Treatment plant Dry Weather overflows: 1 Total: 38 Total nr of connections: 69030 (WCC rating database)Therefore – 38/69030*1000= .055.

Median response time for wastewater overflows:
(a) attendance time
(b) resolution time*

0.27 Hours
3.65 Hours
These are new indicators as mandated by the DIA, with data collection having commenced in the last financial year. According to YE actuals, maintenance contractor is preforming better in these indicators than the targets. With the limited data currently available, it is difficult to predict or update the annual targets at this stage.

2.5 Stormwater

Number of pipeline blockages per km of pipeline
0.46
Year-end figure is less than the target mainly due to the low number of stormwater reticulation incidents per km of reticulation pipeline (blockages) in the network. Results for this KPI are mainly dependent on pipe blockages which cannot be easily predicted. This result indicates that the storm water network is performing better than the targets.

Median response time to attend a flooding event
11 Mins
Year-end figure is less than the target mainly due to the low number of stormwater reticulation incidents per km of reticulation pipeline (blockages) in the network. Results for this KPI are mainly dependent on pipe blockages which cannot be easily predicted. This result indicates that the stormwater network is performing better than the target.

Percentage of days during the bathing season (1 November to 31 March) that the monitored beaches are suitable for recreational use
10
Year-end result indicates that our beaches are fully compliant for recreational use during the bathing season.

2.6 Conservation attractions

Zoo - total admissions
26,096
A positive variance resulting from great summer weather and a strong response to the opening of Meet the Locals He Tuku Aroha.

Zealandia - visitors
29,902
2015/16 was a good year for international visitors to Wellington and the long warm summer contributed to an overall uplift in Zealandia’s visitation. The visitation performance also reflects a coordinated improvement in Zealandia’s membership, its appeal as an education facility and its growing appeal to locals and visitors to Wellington.

3 Economic Development

3.1 City promotions

Measure
Actual difference/
Difference in % points*
Explanation

Estimated attendance at WCC supported events
478,188
Attendance from Capital 150 celebrations (91k), Edinburgh **Tattoo (84k), Elton John (28k) and NZ Festival (95k) have pushed attendance above what was targeted.

4 Cultural Wellbeing

4.1 Arts and culture activities

Measure
Actual difference/
Difference in % points*
Explanation

Economic contribution ($) the NZ Festival makes to the city’s economy (direct new spend)
(7,907,100)
The reported economic impact does not include the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, which was presented by the Festival ahead of the NZ Festival and attracted 55,000 out of region visitors. Many out of region visitors chose the Tattoo over events within the main NZ Festival programme, which impacted on the NZ Festival’s out of region attendance and therefore economic impact. One in six people surveyed indicated they chose the Tattoo at the expense of a NZ Festival event. The Edinburgh Military Tattoo was presented by the NZ festival as a separate event from the actual NZ festival itself so this is reported as part of the activities of the NZ festival for the last financial year through WREDA but they are considered separate events. As they were separate events this impacted the out of region attendance and the economic benefit to the city as one in 6 people surveyed said they chose the Tattoo over an event in the NZ festival itself, which then led to the NZ festival itself having a smaller benefit than previous as the tattoo had benefit that was not included in the NZ festival result.

Cultural grants - % first time applicants who are successful
(12)
Due to high demand on the Arts and Culture Fund more high quality applications from previous applicants were successful, the fund has been increased in 2016/17 by $120,000 to meet increased demand.

5 Social and Recreation

5.1 Recreation promotion and support

Measure
Actual difference/
Difference in % points*
Explanation

User (%) satisfaction - sportsfields (including artificial sports fields)
(43)
With the investment and provision of artificial surfaces alongside natural turf users expect a higher level of quality and availability. There is a conflict over the use of grass vs artificial fields for training vs competition which creates pressure on scheduling, resource and satisfaction. The variability of environmental conditions outside of our control can impact users, which can also impact satisfaction.

Visits to facilities – recreation centres and ASB Centre
27,573
The change in numbers has come about because the ASB Sports Centre numbers (which had been separately recorded) have been included from 2015/16. Prior to that ASB was counted separately. The decision was made to include both the community recreation centres and ASB Centre together going forward.

Artificial sportsfields % utilisation – peak winter
(12)
For winter 2015 we didn’t meet the peak target due to the lack of use on our turfs late in the evenings on Sat/Sun between approx. 7pm – 9.30pm. There was less use on the Wakefield artificial in April due to a car accident which hit our power box affecting all the lights, so there were less trainings happening in the evening.

Artificial sportsfields % utilisation – off-peak winter
(10)
For winter 2015 off-peak there was a large percentage increase in July’s use due to a number of football holidays programmes happening during the school holidays. For the other months the use was similar to winter 2014. Due to the unpredictable weather and costs primary schools are reluctant to make bookings in winter on the turfs.

Artificial sportsfields % utilisation – off-peak summer
(10)
There is little interest from customers to use the artificials during summer time as schools have their own fields. With Alex Moore now added to the mix it means we have more hours available which we struggle to fill during summer off-peak weekdays.

5.2 Community support

E-library users satisfaction (%) with the online library collection
10
This is an increase mainly in the area of online journals and databases, which suggests customers overall satisfaction with the online collection increased when we purchased Zinio. This is a composite figure as the average satisfaction of eBooks, eAudio, website, Databases/journals, and for the first time eTutorials.

Proportion of outcomes delivered (previous projects) - weighted by $ value
10
Following review in processes and subsequent improvements – the outcomes agreed to as part of funding agreements are realistic and achievable hence increase in proportion of outcomes achieved.

Libraries - website visits
1,309,967
This figure now includes website visitors via the library app, which is a statistic that was not able to be collected when the target was originally set.

6.0 Urban Development

6.1 Urban planning, heritage and public spaces development (including waterfront development)

Measure
Actual difference/
Difference in % points*
Explanation

Residents (%) who agree their local suburban centre is lively and attractive
(13)
We continue to work on projects such as BIDs with residents to ensure lively and attractive suburban centres.

The proportion of grant funds successfully allocated (through milestones being met)
(31)
The Built Heritage Incentive Fund supports seismic strengthening and conservation projects, grants are typically a small percentage contribution to overall costs and are paid up to 18 months after grants are offered, all outcomes may not be achieved by the time a building project has been completed, where outcomes are not achieved funds are returned to the pool for reallocation.

7.0 Transport

7.1 Transport

Measure
Actual difference/
Difference in % points*
Explanation

Residents’ satisfaction (%) with street lighting in suburban areas
(21)
WCC is reliant on the electricity network. We have experienced several network failures that contributed to light failures. During the upgrade of Victoria St long term failures in the network occurred. Where light failures occur we upgrade to new LED lights that are more reliable.

7.2 Parking

On-street car park turn-over rates - weekdays and weekends
Weekdays (0.7)

Weekends (0.5)
Parking activity has seen an increase and this has had a negative impact on turnover rates.

On-street car park compliance - time restrictions and payment

Due to the piloting and subsequent installation of parking sensors we do not need to collect this data. Going forward new measure(s) will be developed relating to the parking sensors.

Reference pages

Environment

Table 1 – Residents’ usage of the city’s open spaces - local parks and reserves, botanic gardens, beaches and coastal areas, and walkways

| Weekly
| 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016
Coastal areas or beaches | 19% | 20% | 22% | 21%
Botanic gardens | 5% | 5% | 6% | 4%
Parks and Reserves | 26% | 25% | 21% | 22%
Town Belt or Outer Green Belt | 9% | 13% | 11% | 12%
Walking tracks | 10% | 14% | 17% | 16%
Sportsfields | 16% | 12% | 13% | 11%
| Yearly
| 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016
Coastal areas or beaches | 95% | 94% | 96% | 95%
Botanic gardens | 83% | 78% | 87% | 86%
Parks and Reserves | 94% | 92% | 96% | 95%
Town Belt or Outer Green Belt | 72% | 72% | 78% | 78%
Walking tracks | 72% | 72% | 82% | 80%
Sportsfields | 60% | 58% | 60% | 60%

Source: WCC Parks, Sport and Recreation

Table 2 – Freshwater biological health (macro invertebrates) - Makara, Karori, Kaiwharawhara and Porirua streams

| 2013/14 | 2014/15 | 2015/16
Makara Stream | 107 | 114 | Report available in late 2016
Karori Stream | 92 | 85 |
Kaiwharawhara Stream | 96 | 82 |
Porirua Stream (Wall Park) (new in 2014/15) | - | 81 |
Porirua Stream (Glenside) (new in 2014/15) | - | 94 |

Source: Greater Wellington Regional Council

Table 3 – Freshwater quality – Makara, Karori, Kaiwharawhara and Porirua streams (note data for Owhiro Stream not available)

| 2013/14 | 2014/15 | 2015/16
Makara Stream | Poor | Fair | Report available in late 2016
Karori Stream | Poor | Fair |
Kaiwharawhara Stream | Fair | Fair |
Porirua Stream (Wall Park) (new in 2014/15) | - | Poor |

Source: Greater Wellington Regional Council

Economic Development

Table 4 – Businesses and employees in research and development sector

Businesses | Employees
Year | M691 | P810 | Total | Year | M691 | P810 | Total
2013 | 78 | 75 | 151 | 2013 | 570 | 4470 | 5040
2014 | 84 | 75 | 160 | 2014 | 620 | 4530 | 5150
2015 | 90 | 75 | 165 | 2015 | 640 | 4600 | 5240

Source: Statistics New Zealand

Cultural Wellbeing

Table 5 – Residents’ frequency of engagement in cultural and arts activities

| 2013/14 | 2014/15 | 2015/16
At least once a week | 7% | 9% | 6%
At least once a month | 25% | 34% | 32%
At least every 6 month | 34% | 33% | 35%
At least once a year | 13% | 11% | 15%
Less often | 12% | 9% | 9%

Source: WCC Residents’ Monitoring Survey 2016

Social and Recreation

Table 6 – Residents’ perceptions that there are barriers to participating in recreation activities

| 2011/12 | 2012/13 | 2013/14 | 2014/15 | 2015/16
Too busy | 20% | 47% | 45% | 47% | 43%
Poor health | 9% | 11% | 9% | 6% | 8%
Activity costs too much | 7% | 37% | 36% | 26% | 29%
Activity too far away | 4% | 22% | 23% | 19% | 23%
No facilities for child care | 0% | 5% | 5% | 5% | 5%
Weather | 6% | 27% | 30% | 34% | 29%
Not at a convenient time | 6% | 17% | 20% | 21% | 20%
Shift work | 2% | 6% | 6% | 6% | 6%
Lack of motivation | 5% | 24% | 23% | 22% | 22%
No facilities exist | 1% | 5% | 3% | 1% | 2%
Tiredness | 1% | 20% | 21% | 30% | 23%
Lack of knowledge about how to do it | 3% | 15% | 13% | 15% | 12%
Environmental factors (eg road conditions, pollution) | 0% | 3% | 3% | 3% | 3%
Lack of parking or transport | 8% | 20% | 19% | 20% | 22%
Nothing or not interested | 32% | 10% | 13% | 10% | 12%
Other (specify) | 7% | 8% | 8% | 8% | 6%
Don’t know | 4% | 2% | 3% | 1% | 0.3%

Source: WCC Residents’ Monitoring Survey 2016

Table 7 – Residents’ usage of libraries and frequency of use

| 2013/14 | 2014/15 | 2015/16
More than once a week | 5% | 4% | 5%
Once a week | 15% | 15% | 15%
Once every 2-3 weeks | 22% | 24% | 20%
Once a month | 19% | 19% | 20%
Once every 2-3 months | 17% | 21% | 19%
Once every 4-6 months | 11% | 7% | 12%
Less often than once every 6 months | 11% | 8% | 9%
Don’t Know | 0% | 1% | 0.50%

Source: WCC Residents’ Monitoring Survey 2016

Table 8 – Residents’ engaging in neighbourly actions

| 2014 | 2015 | 2016
Spoken to a neighbour | 88% | 92% | 91%
Given help to a neighbour | 55% | 58% | 62%
Received help from a neighbour | 44% | 47% | 49%
Participated in an activity with a neighbour | 34% | 38% | 36%
Discussed emergency preparedness with a neighbour | 19% | 16% | 14%
None of the above | 10% | 7% | 7%

Source: WCC Residents’ Monitoring Survey 2016

Table 9 – Residents’ perceptions – city and community safety issues of most concern

| 2013/14 | 2014/15 | 2015/16
Poorly lit or dark public areas such as streets, paths and parks | 71% | 61% | 63%
Vandalism such as broken windows in shops and public buildings | 28% | 26% | 27%
Graffiti | 40% | 34% | 32%
Poorly maintained or dangerous public areas such as streets, paths and parks | 40% | 34% | 37%
Traffic, including busy roads and lack of pedestrian facilities | 31% | 34% | 33%
Dangerous driving including speeding, drunk drivers and so on | 35% | 29% | 30%
Alcohol and drug problems | 55% | 51% | 49%
Car theft or vandalism, and theft from cars | 29% | 36% | 32%
Threatening people and/or people behaving dangerously | 51% | 48% | 51%
Other (specify) | 10% | 11% | 10%
Nothing | 2% | 5% | 5%
Don’t know | 2% | 1% | 2%

Source: WCC Residents’ Monitoring Survey 2016

Urban Development

Table 10 – Residents’ perceptions of the city centre as an easy place to get to, use and enjoy

| 2013/14 | 2014/15 | 2015/16
Easy to get around | 78% | 83% | 72%
Easy to access leisure activities | 71% | 80% | 80%

Source: WCC Residents’ Monitoring Survey 2016

Table 11 – Residents’ perceptions of urban design/urban form safety issues (i.e. graffiti, vandalism, poorly lit public spaces, etc.)

| 2014 | 2015 | 2016
Poorly lit public areas | 71% | 61% | 63%
Vandalism | 28% | 26% | 27%
Graffiti | 40% | 34% | 32%
Poorly maintained public areas | 40% | 34% | 37%

Source: WCC Residents’ Monitoring Survey 2016

Table 12 – Building density throughout the city* – Report due in November 2016

2013/14
2014/15

number of buildings
building density (buildings/hectare)
number of buildings
building density (buildings/hectare)

Central city
Data set for this measure comes from a third party. It was not updated during 2013/14
1,825
8

Inner residential
10,485
35

Outer residential
75,499
22

Business 1 & 2, Centres and Medium Density Residential Area

3,640

11

Source: WCC GIS

Table 13 - Proportion of houses within 100metres of a public transport stop

2013/14 | 2014/15 | 2015/16
Data set for this measure comes from a third party. It was not updated during 2013/14 | 45% | 45%

Source: WCC GIS

Transport

Table 14 – Air quality monitoring (i.e. nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, and particulate matter peaks)

|  | 2013/14 | 2014/15 | 2015/16
NO₂ (µg/m³) | max | 79.8 | 86.6 | 66
| mean | 19 | 20 | -
CO (mg/m³) | max | 2 | 2 | 1
| mean | 0.4 | 0.4 | -
Particulate matter (PM10) (µg/m³) | max | 28 | 32 | 32
| mean | 14 | 13 | -

Source: Greater Wellington Regional Council, Air quality state of the environment monitoring programme, Annual data report 2015

Note: The data is for the calendar year. The 2015 data is not comparable to previous years because, as a result of the Victoria St upgrade, the data is now derived from a new site on Willis St. This change of site has also meant that for 2015 there is insufficient data capture to generate a mean metric.

Table 15 – Residents’ perceptions of transport related safety issues (i.e. issues of most concern)

| 2013/14 | 2014/15 | 2015/16
Traffic or busy roads | 31% | 34% | 33%
Car theft or vandalism | 29% | 36% | 32%
Poorly lit or dark public areas | 71% | 61% | 63%
Dangerous driving | 35% | 29% | 30%

Source: WCC Residents’ Monitoring Survey 2016

Note that survey in 2012/13 and 2013/14 asked for issues of particular concern rather than issue of ‘most’ concern. Prior year results are not comparable.

Table 16 – Number of cyclists and pedestrians entering the Central Business District (weekdays)

| 2013/14 | 2014/15 | 2015/16
Cyclists | 8,111 | 10,515 | 9,621
Pedestrians | 58,750 | 54,319 | 55,120

Source: WCC Transport – Cycle Cordon Survey

Financial Statements

Wellington City Council and Group
Consolidated Financial Statements
For the year ended 30 June 2016

Contents

|  |  | Page
|  | Statement of Compliance and Responsibility | 141
|  | Council and Group structure | 142
|  | Basis of Consolidation | 143
|  |  | Statement of Comprehensive Revenue and Expense | 144
| – Major budget variations | 146
Note |  |
1 | Rates revenue | 147
2 | Revenue from operating activities | 148
3 | Investments revenue | 150
4 | Vested assets and other revenue | 151
5 | Fair value gains | 152
6 | Finance expense | 153
7 | Expenditure on operating activities | 154
8 | Depreciation and amortisation | 156
9 | Share of associates’ and jointly controlled entity’s surplus or deficit | 158
10 | Income tax expense | 159
|  |  | Statement of Financial Position | 160
| – Major budget variations | 162
11 | Cash and cash equivalents | 163
12 | Derivative financial instruments | 164
13 | Receivables and recoverables | 165
14 | Other financial assets | 168
15 | Non-current assets classified as held for sale | 170
16 | Intangibles | 171
17 | Investment properties | 173
18 | Property, plant and equipment | 174
19 | Investment in controlled entities | 185
20 | Investment in associates and jointly controlled entity | 186
21 | Exchange transactions, taxes and transfers payable | 189
22 | Revenue in advance | 190
23 | Borrowings | 191
24 | Employee benefit liabilities and provisions | 193
25 | Provisions for other liabilities | 195
26 | Deferred tax assets and liabilities | 199
|  |  | Statement of Changes in Equity | 200
| – Major budget variations | 202
27 | Revaluation reserves | 203
28 | Hedging reserve | 205
29 | Fair value through other comprehensive revenue and expense reserve | 206
30 | Restricted funds | 207
|  |  | Statement of Cash Flows | 209
|  |  | – Major budget variations | 210
31 | Reconciliation of net surplus to net operating cash flows | 211
| Other disclosures |
32 | Financial instruments | 212
33 | Commitments and carry forwards | 220
34 | Contingencies | 222
35 | Jointly controlled assets | 224
36 | Related party disclosures | 225
37 | Remuneration and staffing levels | 229
38 | Events after the end of the reporting period | 232
| Other significant accounting policies | 233

Statement of Compliance and Responsibility

Reporting entity

Wellington City Council is a territorial local authority governed by the Local Government Act 2002.

The primary purpose of the Council and Group is to provide goods or services for community or social benefits rather than making a financial return. As a defined public entity under the Public Audit Act 2001, the Council is audited by the Office of the Auditor General and is classed as a Public Sector Public Benefit Entity for financial reporting purposes.

The reported Council figures includes the results and operations of Wellington City Council and the Council’s interests in the joint ventures as disclosed in Note 35: Jointly controlled assets (page 224).

The reported Group figures includes the Council (as defined above), its controlled entities (subsidiaries) as disclosed in Note 19 (page 185) and the Council’s equity accounted interest in the associates and a jointly controlled entity as disclosed in Note 20 (page 186). A structural diagram of the Council and Group is included on the following page.

Compliance

The Council and management of Wellington City Council confirm that all the statutory requirements in relation to the Annual Report, as outlined in Schedule 10 of the Local Government Act 2002, including the requirement to comply with New Zealand Generally Accepted Accounting Practice (NZ GAAP) have been complied with.

The financial statements have been prepared to comply with Public Sector Public Benefit Entity Accounting Standards (PBE accounting standards) for a Tier 1 entity1 and were authorised for issue by the Council on 28 September 2016.

Responsibility

The Council and management accept responsibility for the preparation of the annual financial statements and judgements used in them. They also accept responsibility for establishing and maintaining a system of internal control designed to provide reasonable assurance as to the integrity and reliability of financial reporting.

In the opinion of the Council and management, the Annual Report for the year ended 30 June 2016 fairly reflect the financial position, results of operations and service performance achievements of Wellington City Council and Group.

Celia Wade-Brown
Mayor
Kevin Lavery
Chief Executive
Andy Matthews
Chief Financial Officer

28 September 2016
28 September 2016
28 September 2016

A Tier 1 entity is defined as being either, publicly accountable or large (ie. expenses over $30m). Council exceeds the expenses threshold.

Council and Group Structure

Wellington City Council Reporting Entity (Council)

Wellington City Council Group Reporting Entity (Group)

All entities included within the Group are domiciled in Wellington, New Zealand.

The percentages above represent the Council’s interest and/or ownership (for accounting purposes) in each of the entities in the Group. Refer to Notes 19 and 20 (pages 185 and 186) for more information.

The legal name of Positively Wellington Tourism is Partnership Wellington Trust. The operations of the Trust were transferred to Wellington Regional Economic Development Agency Limited with effect from 1 January 2015. The winding up of the Trust has not been completed as at 30 June 2016.

Wellington Regional Economic Development Agency Limited (WREDA) is a combination of the previously held activities of the Wellington Venues Limited and Positively Wellington Tourism entities. In 2015 WREDA acquired 100% ownership of Grow Wellington Limited and indirectly Creative HQ Limited from Greater Wellington Regional Council. As at 30 June 2016 Grow Wellington was fully amalgamated into the operations of WREDA.

Basis of Consolidation

Joint ventures

Joint ventures are binding contractual arrangements with other parties to jointly control an undertaken activity. The accounting treatment can vary according to the structure of the venture concerned. The two structure types are either a jointly controlled asset or a jointly controlled entity.

For a jointly controlled asset the Council has a liability in respect of its share of joint ventures’ operational deficits and liabilities, and shares in any operational surpluses and assets. The Council’s proportionate interest (ie 21.5% of the Spicer Valley landfill) in the assets, liabilities, revenue and expenditure is included in the financial statements of the Council and Group on a line-by-line basis.

For a jointly controlled entity the Council chooses to use the equity accounting treatment option available as it better reflects its investment in the joint venture. The investment is initially recognised at cost, and adjusted thereafter for the post-acquisition changes in the Council’s share of net assets/equity of the entity. The Council’s share of the surplus or deficit of the entity is included in the Group’s surplus or deficit on a single line.

Controlled entities

Controlled entities are entities that are controlled by the Council. In the Council financial statements, the investment in controlled entities are carried at cost. In the Group financial statements, controlled entities are accounted for using the purchase method where assets, liabilities, revenue and expenditure are added on a line-by-line basis. Where a non-controlling interest is held by another party in a Council controlled entity, the controlled entity is consolidated as if it was fully controlled and the share of any surplus or deficit attributable to the non-controlling interest is disclosed within the Statement of Comprehensive Revenue and Expense.

All significant transactions between Group entities, other than rates, are eliminated on consolidation. Rates are charged on an arm’s length basis and are not eliminated to ensure that reported costs and revenues are consistent with the Council’s Annual Plan.

Associates

Associates are entities where the Council has significant influence over their operating and financial policies but they are not controlled entities or joint ventures. In the Council financial statements, the investments in associates are carried at cost. In the Group financial statements, the Council’s share of the assets, liabilities, revenue and expenditure of associates is included on an equity accounting basis as a single line.

Council Controlled Organisations

The Council has established several Council Controlled Organisations (CCO’s) and Council Controlled Trading Organisations (CCTO’s) to help it achieve its goals for Wellington. These organisations were set up to independently manage Council facilities, or deliver specific services and developments on behalf of Wellington residents. Information on these organisations is found across the relevant sections of the Statements of Service Provision. Council has made appointments to other organisations, which make them Council Organisations (as defined in the Local Government Act 2002) but they are not Council controlled or part of the Group.

Statement of Comprehensive Revenue and Expense

For the year ended 30 June 2016

Council
Group

Note
Actual
2016
$000
Budget
2016
$000
Actual
2015
$000
Actual
2016
$000
Actual
2015
$000

Revenue

Rates
1
272,127
270,907
253,574
272,127
253,574

Revenue from operating activities

Development contributions
2
2,747
2,000
2,078
2,747
2,078

Grants, subsidies and reimbursements
2
33,083
42,511
40,826
44,383
53,213

Other operating activities
2
124,926
121,287
121,482
135,235
132,639

Investments revenue
3
23,204
20,135
24,176
11,145
11,257

Vested assets and other revenue
4
13,732
1,050
14,400
13,732
14,400

Fair value gains
5
14,173
4,289
10,515
14,177
10,515

Finance revenue

3,103
13
2,839
3,407
3,213

Total revenue

487,095
462,192
469,890
496,953
480,889

Expense

Finance expense
6
(24,223)
(22,961)
(23,238)
(24,223)
(23,239)

Expenditure on operating activities
7
(329,583)
(316,333)
(310,335)
(347,721)
(330,454)

Depreciation and amortisation expense
8
(99,183)
(99,797)
(99,009)
(100,970)
(100,024)

Fair value reductions

-
-
(1,766)
-
(1,794)

Total expense

(452,989)
(439,091)
(434,348)
(472,914)
(455,511)

Share of equity accounted surplus/(deficit) from associates and jointly controlled entity
9
-
-
-
12,811
11,612

Net surplus before taxation

34,106
23,101
35,542
36,850
36,990

Income tax credit/(expense)
10
-
-
-
(240)
(609)

NET SURPLUS for the year

34,106
23,101
35,542
36,610
36,381

Net surplus attributable to:

Wellington City Council and Group

34,106
23,101
35,542
36,610
36,281

Non-controlling interest

-
-
-
-
100

34,106
23,101
35,542
36,610
36,381

The notes on pages 146 to 234 form part of and should be read in conjunction with the financial statements

Statement of Comprehensive Revenue and Expense – continued

For the year ended 30 June 2016

Council
Group

Refer
Actual
2016
$000
Budget
2016
$000
Actual
2015
$000
Actual
2016
$000
Actual
2015
$000

Net surplus for the year

34,106
23,101
35,542
36,610
36,381

Other comprehensive revenue and expense 1

Items that will be reclassified to surplus/(deficit)

Cash flow hedges:

Fair value movement - net
SCIE²
(21,268)
-
(17,059)
(21,268)
(17,059)

Fair value through other comprehensive revenue and expense

Fair value movement - net
SCIE
1,542
-
43
1,521
442

Items that will not be reclassified to surplus/(deficit)

Non-contolling interest:

Movement in non-controlling interest

-
-
-
(32)
316

Revaluations:

Fair value movement - property, plant and equipment - net
SCIE
(211)
-
11,168
(211)
11,168

Share of other comprehensive revenue and expense of associates and jointly controlled entity:

Fair value movement - property, plant and equipment - net
SCIE
-
-
-
-
3,862

Effect of changed shareholding in associates
SCIE
-
-
-
-
27

Total other comprehensive revenue and expense

(19,937)
-
(5,848)
(19,990)
(1,244)

TOTAL COMPREHENSIVE REVENUE and EXPENSE for the year

14,169
23,101
29,694
16,620
35,137

Total comprehensive revenue and expense attributable to:

Wellington City Council and Group

14,169
23,101
29,694
16,620
35,037

Non-controlling interest

-
-
-
-
100

14,169
23,101
29,694
16,620
35,137

Other comprehensive revenue or expense is non-cash in nature and only reflects changes in equity.

Statement of Changes in Equity – see page 200.

The notes on pages 146 to 234 form part of and should be read in conjunction with the financial statements

Statement of Comprehensive Revenue and Expense - Major budget variations

Significant variations from budgeted revenues and expenses are as follows:

Revenues were $24.903m higher than budgeted primarily due to:

$1.225m of rates largely reflecting higher water rates from higher consumption

$0.747m more Development Contributions received than budgeted for

$3.639m of other operating activities including $1.694m more from the Wellington Venues project and $1.271m unbudgeted reimbursement revenue from the Shared Services programme

$3.069m of investment revenues including $1.179m of extra dividends

$12.682m of unbudgeted vested assets ($10.181m) and other revenue ($1.700m - mainly due to gains on the disposal of assets)

$9.884m of non-cash fair value gains arising from higher than budgeted investment property revaluations

$3.103m of unbudgeted interest income (see finance expense below)

These higher revenues were offset by $9.428m of lower than budgeted grants, subsidies and reimbursements primarily reflecting the delayed recognition of capital grants relating to the housing upgrade project.

Expenses were $13.898m higher than budgeted primarily due to:

$1.262m greater finance expense. However, when this is offset by the $3.103m of unbudgeted finance revenue net interest is under budget by $1.841m

$13.250m on operating activities largely due to the unbudgeted $12.006m increase in the provision for weathertight homes liabilities

These higher expenses were offset by $0.614m of lower depreciation costs largely due to City Housing valuations (2015) being lower than expected, lower property capital expenditure on Earthquake Resilience, both offsetting accelerated depreciation costs on IT assets due to be phased out in 2016/17.

Note 1: Rates revenue

Council
Group

2016
$000
2015
$000
2016
$000
2015
$000

General rates

Base sector
83,317
73,417
83,317
73,417

Commercial, industrial and business sector
68,315
60,835
68,315
60,835

Targeted rates

All (excluding water rates by meter)
105,897
106,640
105,897
106,640

Total rates revenue (excluding water rates by meter)
257,529
240,892
257,529
240,892

Water rates by meter revenue
14,598
12,682
14,598
12,682

TOTAL RATES REVENUE
272,127
253,574
272,127
253,574

The total amount of rates charged on Council owned properties that have not been eliminated from revenue and expenditure is $12.752m (2015: $11.623m). For the Group, rates of $12.787m (2015: $11.657m) have not been eliminated.

The revenue from rates for Wellington City Council was billed on the following rating information held as at 30 June 2015.

The number of rating units: 77,271 (30 June 2014: 76,680).

2016
$000
2015
$000

Total capital value of rating units
51,685,784
51,238,236

Total land value of rating units
22,326,668
22,259,307

Relevant significant accounting policies

Rates are set annually by resolution from the Council and relate to a particular financial year. All ratepayers are invoiced within the financial year for which the rates have been set. Rates revenue is recognised in full as at the date when rate assessment notices are sent to the ratepayers. Rates are a tax as they are payable under the Local Government Ratings Act 2002 and therefore meet the definition of non-exchange.

Water rates by meter are regulated in the same way as other rates and are taxes that use a specific charging mechanism to collect the rate. However, as the rates charged are primarily based on a per unit of consumption basis, water rates by meter are considered to be more in the nature of an exchange transaction. Revenue from water rates by meter is recognised on an accrual basis based on usage.

Rates remissions

Revenue from rates and levies is shown net of rates remissions. The Council’s Rates Remission and Postponement Policies provide for general rates to be partially remitted for rural open space; land used principally for games or sport and in special circumstances (where the rating policy is deemed to unfairly disadvantage an individual ratepayer). A remission of the Downtown levy targeted rate may also be granted to provide rates relief for downtown commercial property temporarily not fit for the purpose due to the property undergoing development and therefore not receiving the benefits derived by contributing to the Downtown levy targeted rate. The Council committed itself at the start of the year to certain remissions, which for the reporting period ended 30 June 2016 totalled $0.407m (2015: $0.378m).

Non-rateable land

Under the Local Government (Rating) Act 2002 certain properties are non-rateable. This includes schools, churches, public gardens and certain land vested in the Crown. This land is non-rateable in respect of general rates but, where applicable, is rateable in respect of sewerage and water. Non-rateable land does not constitute a remission under the Council’s Rates Remission and Postponement Policies.

Note 2: Revenue from operating activities

Council
Group

2016
$000
2015
$000
2016
$000
2015
$000

Development contributions
2,747
2,078
2,747
2,078

Grants, subsidies and reimbursements

Operating
7,107
7,735
17,610
15,872

Capital
25,976
33,091
26,773
37,341

Total grants, subsidies and reimbursements
33,083
40,826
44,383
53,213

Other operating activities

Fines and penalties
6,968
7,857
6,968
7,857

Rendering of services
111,268
107,709
120,294
117,700

Sale of goods
6,690
5,916
7,973
7,082

Total other operating activities
124,926
121,482
135,235
132,639

TOTAL REVENUE FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES
160,756
164,386
182,365
187,930

For the Council, the principal grants and reimbursements are from:

The New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA), which reimburses part of the Council’s costs for maintaining the local roading infrastructure. The capital reimbursements from NZTA of $12.855m (2015: $18.089m) and operating reimbursements of $4.768m (2015: $5.591m) are for costs already incurred and there are no unfulfilled conditions or other contingencies relating to the reimbursements.

The Crown, for the upgrade of the Council’s social housing stock. The capital grant and operating grant recognised in the current year being, $11.254m (2015: $13.388m) and $1.233m (2015: $1.038m) respectively, are part of a 10 year work programme that commenced in 2008 and the revenue is recognised in accordance with that agreed work programme. There are no unfulfilled conditions or other contingencies relating to this utilised grant revenue apart from the overarching requirement for Council to maintain its investment and provision of social housing until 2037.

For the Group, the additional principal subsidy was $3.718m (2015: $6.949m) from Greater Wellington Regional Council to Wellington Cable Car Limited for the maintenance and upgrade of the overhead wire trolley system.

For other operating activities of Council, the principal services rendered (provided) were:

Social housing – $21.769m (2015: $21.438m)

Parking fees and permits – $18.597m (2015: $17.991m)

Convention and conferences centres – $15.076m (2015: $14.931m)

Building consents and licensing services – $13.823m (2015: $13.240m)

Landfill operations and recycling – $11.138m (2015: $10.346m) – including unbudgeted revenue from the joint venture with Porirua City Council $0.993m (2015: $1.258m)

Relevant significant accounting policies

Revenue from operating activities is generally measured at the fair value of consideration received or receivable.

The Council undertakes various activities as part of its normal operations which generates revenue, but generally at below market prices or at fees and user charges subsidised by rates. The following categories (except where noted) are classified as transfers, which are non-exchange transactions other than taxes.

See Note 13: Receivables and recoverables (page 167), for an explanation of exchange and non-exchange transactions, transfers and taxes.

Development contributions

Development contributions are recognised as revenue when the Council provides, or is able to provide, the service for which the contribution was charged. Until such time as the Council provides, or is able to provide the service, development contributions are recognised as liabilities.

Grants, subsidies and reimbursements

Grants, subsidies and reimbursements are initially recognised at their fair value where there is reasonable assurance that the monies will be received and all attaching conditions will be complied with. Grants and subsidies received in relation to the provision of services are recognised on a percentage of completion basis. Reimbursements (eg NZTA roading claim payments) are recognised upon entitlement, which is when conditions pertaining to eligible expenditure have been fulfilled.

Fines and penalties

Revenue from fines and penalties (eg traffic and parking infringements, library overdue book fines) is recognised when infringement notices are issued or when the fines/penalties are otherwise imposed. In particular the fair value of parking related fines is determined based on the probability of collecting fines considering previous collection history and a discount for the time value of money.

Rendering of services

Revenue from the rendering of services (eg building consent fees) is recognised by reference to the stage of completion of the transaction, based on the actual service provided as a percentage of the total services to be provided. Under this method, revenue is recognised in the accounting periods in which the services are provided. Some rendering of services are provided at a market rate or on a full cost recovery basis (eg. Parking fees) and these are classified as exchange.

Sale of goods

The sale of goods is classified as exchange revenue. Sale of goods is recognised when products are sold to the customer and all risks and rewards of ownership have transferred to the customer.

Note 3: Investments revenue

Council
Group

2016
$000
2015
$000
2016
$000
2015
$000

Dividend from investment in controlled entities
-
-
-
-

Dividend from investment in associates
12,059
12,950
-
-

Dividend from investment in other entities
120
132
120
132

Investment property lease rentals
11,025
11,094
11,025
11,094

Proceeds from the sale of shares
-
-
-
31

TOTAL INVESTMENT REVENUE
23,204
24,176
11,145
11,257

The primary investment dividend was from Council’s 34% holding in Wellington International Airport Limited.

The Council continues to maintain its current level of investment as it considers the dividend stream adds diversity to normal rates revenue. The investment holding is presently maintained as it is strategically, financially and economically prudent to do so.

* In 2012, the original dividend of $8.826m was boosted by a one-off special dividend of $13.600m.

For further information refer to Note 20: Investment in associates and jointly controlled entity (page 186).

The rentals from investment property leases are primarily from ground leases around the CBD and on the waterfront. The Council periodically reviews its continued ownership of investment properties by assessing the benefits against other arrangements that could deliver similar benefits. Any assessment is based on both the strategic benefit of the investment/ownership and in terms of the most financially viable method of achieving the delivery of Council services.

For further information refer to Note 17: Investment properties (page 173).

Relevant significant accounting policies

Dividends

Dividends from equity investments are recognised when the Council’s right to receive payment has been established.

Investment property lease rentals

Lease rentals (net of any incentives given) are recognised on a straight line basis over the term of the lease unless another systematic basis is more representative of the time pattern in which benefits derived from the leased asset is diminished.

Note 4: Vested assets and other revenue

Council
Group

2016
$000
2015
$000
2016
$000
2015
$000

Vested assets
10,181
12,368
10,181
12,368

Other revenue
3,551
2,032
3,551
2,032

TOTAL VESTED ASSETS AND OTHER REVENUE
13,732
14,400
13,732
14,400

Vested assets are principally infrastructural assets such as roading, drainage, waste and water assets that have been constructed by developers. As part of the consents process, ownership of these assets is transferred to the Council, and on completion they become part of the city’s network. Vested assets are non-cash in nature and represent a future obligation to the Council, as the Council will have the on-going costs associated with maintaining the assets.

The values of principal vested assets received were:

Roading – $3.737m (2015: $2.341m)

Drainage, waste and water – $5.982m (2015: $2.083m)

Carbon credits – $0.422m (2015: $0.392m)

Relevant significant accounting policies

Donated, subsidised or vested assets

Where a physical asset is acquired for nil or nominal consideration, with no conditions attached, the fair value of the asset received, as determined by active market prices, is recognised as non-exchange revenue when the control of the asset is transferred to the Council.

Gains

Gains include additional earnings (ie sale proceeds in excess of the book value) on the disposal of property, plant and equipment.

Donated services

The Council benefits from the voluntary service of many Wellingtonians in the delivery of its activities and services (eg beach cleaning and Otari-Wilton’s Bush guiding and planting). Due to the difficulty in determining the precise value of these donated services with sufficient reliability, donated services are not recognised in these financial statements.

Note 5: Fair value gains

Council
Group

2016
$000
2015
$000
2016
$000
2015
$000

Investment property revaluation
13,773
8,552
13,773
8,552

Amortisation of loans to related parties
400
564
404
564

Derivatives at fair value through surplus or deficit
-
137
-
137

Gain on investment acquisition
-
1,262
-
1,262

TOTAL FAIR VALUE GAINS
14,173
10,515
14,177
10,515

Investment properties, which are revalued annually, are held primarily to earn rental revenue and/or for capital growth. These properties include the Council’s ground leases and land and buildings, including the waterfront’s investment properties.

The gain on investment acquisition in 2015 relates to the Council’s purchase of Grow Wellington Limited, from GWRC, which is now fully amalgamated into WREDA.

Relevant significant accounting policies

Gains

Gains include increases on the revaluation of investment property and in the fair value of financial assets and liabilities.

Investment properties

Investment properties are measured initially at cost and subsequently measured at fair value, determined annually by an independent registered valuer. Any gain or loss arising is recognised within surplus or deficit. Investment properties are not depreciated.

Derivatives

Movements on derivatives at fair value through surplus or deficit represents the fair value movements on interest rate swaps that do not meet the criteria for hedge accounting. Movements in the Group’s other derivatives that meet the criteria for hedge accounting, are taken to the cash flow hedge reserve and have no impact on the net surplus for the year.

Note 6: Finance expense

Council
Group

2016
$000
2015
$000
2016
$000
2015
$000

Interest on borrowings
23,219
22,142
23,219
22,143

Interest on finance leases
14
29
14
29

Re-discounting of interest on provisions
990
1,067
990
1,067

TOTAL FINANCE EXPENSE
24,223
23,238
24,223
23,239

Less

Finance revenue - interest earned
3,103
2,839
3,407
3,213

NET FINANCE COST
21,120
20,399
20,816
20,026

Relevant significant accounting policies

Interest on borrowings

Interest expense is recognised using the effective interest rate method. All borrowing costs are expensed in the period in which they are incurred.

Re-discounting of interest

Re-discounting of interest on provisions is the Council’s funding cost for non-current provisions (where the cash flows will not occur until a future date). For further information refer to Note 24: Employee benefit liabilities and provisions (page 193) and Note 25: Provisions for other liabilities (page 195).

Interest earned

Interest earned is recognised using the effective interest rate method.

Note 7: Expenditure on operating activities

Council
Group

2016
$000
2015
$000
2016
$000
2015
$000

Auditor’s remuneration:

Audit services - Audit New Zealand - Financial Statements
282
277
410
382

Audit services - Audit New Zealand - Long-term plan
45
135
45
135

Audit services - Audit New Zealand - other
11
34
11
34

Audit services - Other Auditors
-
-
35
35

Impairments

Bad debts written off not previously provided for
282
307
282
334

Increase in provision for impairment of receivables and recoverables
437
452
437
452

Impairment loss from property, plant and equipment
132
5,072
581
5,072

Impairment loss on shares
-
-
18
6

Governance and employment

Elected member remuneration
1,526
1,484
1,526
1,484

Independent Directors/trustees fees for controlled entities
-
-
354
406

Employee benefits expense:

- Remuneration
79,343
79,518
101,994
99,229

- Superannuation contributions (including Kiwisaver)
2,253
2,108
2,767
2,526

- Termination benefits (including severances)
924
641
924
724

Other personnel costs
3,657
3,609
4,362
4,060

Insurance

Insurance premiums
9,535
10,713
9,936
11,120

Insurance reserve costs - net
545
1,632
545
1,632

General

Advertising, printing and publications
2,538
2,850
8,686
9,319

Consultants and legal fees
12,506
9,423
13,181
9,577

Contractors
3,083
3,205
5,046
5,269

Direct costs
110,894
109,788
115,651
118,590

Grants - general
18,542
10,910
17,924
11,028

Grants to controlled entities
19,842
17,614
-
-

Information and communication technology
9,273
6,367
10,235
7,230

Loss on disposal of property, plant and equipment
1,827
354
2,174
335

Loss on disposal of intangibles
-
24
-
24

Operating lease - minimum lease payments
1,313
1,311
2,613
2,527

Reassessment of provisions
12,079
1,045
12,079
1,045

Utility costs
19,632
18,899
20,073
19,360

Other general costs
19,082
22,563
15,832
18,519

TOTAL EXPENDITURE ON OPERATING ACTIVITIES
329,583
310,335
347,721
330,454

Auditor’s remuneration

During the period Audit New Zealand provided other services to the Council, namely assurance services relating to the Clifton Terrace Carpark managed by the Council on behalf of the NZTA and specialist assurance advice on shared IT services.

Impairments

The impairment loss from property, plant and equipment in 2015 primarily related to the Town Hall due to the building being earthquake prone. Its value in use was calculated as the difference between the expected value of the building after strengthening has been completed and the costs to strengthen it. The impairment amounted to $4.513m.

Governance and employment

Governance costs relate to the remuneration made to all elected members, comprising the Mayor, Councillors and Community Board members and also to directors appointed to boards of Controlled entities.

Employment costs relate to the remuneration paid directly to staff, other employee benefits such as Kiwisaver and other associated costs such as recruitment and training.

For further information refer to Note 37: Remuneration and staffing levels (page 229).

General

Direct costs are costs directly attributable to the rendering of Council services, including contracts, maintenance, management fees, materials and services.

Grants – general, include $2.250m (2015: $2.250m) towards the funding of the Museum of New Zealand, Te Papa Tongarewa.

Grants to controlled entities such as the Wellington Zoo Trust are for operational funding purposes. For details of the funding to these entities refer to Note 36: Related party disclosures (page 225).

Operating lease minimum lease payments are for non-cancellable agreements for the use of assets such as buildings and specialised computer equipment.

Reassessment of provisions primarily relates to the Weathertight homes provision. Refer to Note 25: Provisions for other liabilities (page 195) for more detailed information.

Utility costs are those relating to the use of electricity, gas, and water. It also includes the payment of rates and water meter charges of $12.824m (2015: $11.623m) on Council owned properties.

Relevant significant accounting policies

Grants and sponsorships

Expenditure is classified as a grant or sponsorship if it results in a transfer of resources (eg cash or physical assets) to another entity or individual in return for compliance with certain conditions relating to the operating activities of that entity. It includes any expenditure arising from a funding arrangement with another entity that has been entered into to achieve the objectives of the Council. Grants and sponsorships are distinct from donations which are discretionary or charitable gifts. Where grants and sponsorships are discretionary until payment, the expense is recognised when the payment is made. Otherwise, the expense is recognised when the specified criteria have been fulfilled.

Cost allocation

The Council has derived the cost of service for each significant activity (as reported within the Statements of Service Provision). Direct costs are expensed directly to the activity. Indirect costs relate to the overall costs of running the organisation and include staff time, office space and information technology costs. These indirect costs are allocated as overheads across all activities.

Research and Development

Research costs are expensed as incurred. Development expenditure on individual projects is capitalised and recognised as an asset when it meets the definition and criteria for capitalisation as an asset and it is probable that the Council will receive future economic benefits from the asset. Assets which have finite lives are stated at cost less accumulated amortisation and are amortised on a straight-line basis over their useful lives.

Note 8: Depreciation and amortisation

Council
Group

2016
$000
2015
$000
2016
$000
2015
$000

Depreciation

Buildings
20,348
22,435
20,348
22,435

Civic Centre complex
2,739
2,793
2,739
2,793

Restricted buildings
1,521
1,430
1,521
1,430

Drainage, waste and water infrastructure
27,586
27,248
27,586
27,248

Service concession assets
4,969
4,969
4,969
4,969

Landfill post closure
145
136
145
136

Library collections
2,165
2,092
2,165
2,092

Plant and equipment
11,890
11,712
13,621
12,684

Roading infrastructure
23,341
21,857
23,341
21,857

Total depreciation
94,704
94,672
96,435
95,644

Amortisation

Computer software
4,479
4,337
4,535
4,380

Total amortisation
4,479
4,337
4,535
4,380

TOTAL DEPRECIATION AND AMORTISATION
99,183
99,009
100,970
100,024

Depreciation (amortisation) is an expense charged each year to reflect the estimated cost of using our assets over their lives. Amortisation relates to ‘intangible’ assets such as software (as distinct from physical assets, which are covered by the term depreciation).

Relevant significant accounting policies

Depreciation

Depreciation is provided on all property, plant and equipment, with certain exceptions. The exceptions are land, restricted assets other than buildings, and assets under construction (work in progress). Depreciation is calculated on a straight-line basis, to allocate the cost or value of the asset (less any assessed residual value) over its estimated useful life.

The landfill post closure asset is depreciated over the life of the landfill based on the capacity of the landfill.

Amortisation

The amortisation of intangible assets is charged on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful life of the associated assets.

The estimated useful lives and depreciation rate ranges of the major classes of property, plant and equipment are as follows:

Asset Category
2016

Useful Life
(years)
Depreciation
Rate

Land
unlimited
not depreciated

Buildings
1 - 75
1.33 - 100%

Civic Centre Complex
10 - 78
1.28 - 10%

Plant and equipment
3 - 100
1 - 33.3%

Library collection
3 -11
9.1 - 33.3%

Restricted assets (excluding buildings)
unlimited
not depreciated

Infrastructure assets:

Land (including land under roads)

unlimited
not depreciated

Roading

3 - 175
0.57 - 33.3%

Drainage, waste and water

3 - 175
0.57 - 33.3%

Service concession arrangements

3 - 100
1 - 33.3%

The variation in the range of lives for infrastructural assets is due to these assets being managed and depreciated by individual component rather than as a whole asset.

Computer software has a finite economic life and amortisation is charged to surplus or deficit on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful life of the asset. Typically, the estimated useful lives and amortisation rate range of these assets are as follows:

Asset Category
2016

Useful Life
(years)
Amortisation
Rate

Computer software
2 - 10
10 - 50%

Note 9: Share of associates’ and jointly controlled entity’s surplus or deficit

The Council’s share of the results of the Chaffers Marina Holdings Limited, Wellington International Airport Limited and Wellington Water Limited is as follows:

Group

2016
$000
2015
$000

Chaffers Marina Holdings Limited

Share of net surplus/(deficit) before tax
(36)
4

Tax (expense)/credit
-
-

Share of associate’s surplus/(deficit) - Chaffers Marina Holdings Limited
(36)
4

Wellington International Airport Limited

Share of net surplus before tax
12,804
10,764

Tax (expense)/credit
1
424

Share of associate’s surplus/(deficit) - Wellington International Airport Limited
12,805
11,188

Wellington Water Limited

Share of net surplus/(deficit before tax)
42
420

Tax (expense)/credit
-
-

Share of jointly controlled entities surplus/(deficit) - Wellington Water Limited
42
420

TOTAL SHARE OF ASSOCIATES’ AND JOINTLY CONTROLLED ENTITY’S SURPLUS OR (DEFICIT)
12,811
11,612

Further information on the cost and value of the above investments is found in Note 20: Investments in Associates and Jointly Controlled Entity (page 186).

Relevant significant accounting policies

Associates are entities where the Council has significant influence over their operating and financial policies but they are not controlled entities or joint ventures. In the Council financial statements, the investments in associates are carried at cost. In the Group financial statements, the Council’s share of the assets, liabilities, revenue and expenditure of associates is included on an equity accounting basis as a single line.

For a jointly controlled entity the Council chooses to use the equity accounting treatment option available as it better reflects its investment in the joint venture. The investment is initially recognised at cost, and adjusted thereafter for the post-acquisition changes in the Council’s share of net assets/equity of the entity. The Council’s share of the surplus or deficit of the entity is included in the Group’s surplus or deficit on a single line.

Note 10: Income tax expense

Council
Group

2016
$000
2015
$000
2016
$000
2015
$000

Current tax expense

Current year
-
-
(216)
221

Prior period adjustment
-
-
-
(1)

Total current tax expense
-
-
(216)
220

Deferred tax expense

Origination and reversal of temporary differences
(100)
(68)
-
-

Change in unrecognised temporary differences
-
-
456
389

Recognition of previously unrecognised tax losses
100
68
-
-

Total deferred tax expense
-
-
456
389

TOTAL INCOME TAX EXPENSE / (CREDIT)
-
-
240
609

Reconciliation of tax on the surplus and tax expense
Council
Group

2016
$000
2015
$000
2016
$000
2015
$000

Surplus for the period before taxation
34,106
35,542
36,850
36,990

Prima facie income tax based on domestic tax rate - 28%
9,550
9,952
10,318
10,357

Effect of non-deductible expenses and tax exempt income
(9,590)
(9,978)
(10,720)
(9,873)

Effect of tax losses utilised
100
68
-
-

Current years loss for which no deferred tax asset was recognised
40
25
40
25

Recognition of prior year loss
(100)
(68)
(100)
(68)

Previously unreognised tax losses now utilised
-
-
(41)
-

Change in unrecognised temporary differences
-
-
738
542

Prior period adjustment
-
-
(205)
-

Share of income tax of equity accounted associates
-
-
211
(375)

TOTAL INCOME TAX EXPENSE / (CREDIT)
-
-
240
609

Imputation credits
Group

2016
$000
2015
$000

Imputation credits available in subsequent periods
87
77

Relevant significant accounting policies

Council, as a local authority is only liable for income tax on the surplus or deficit for the year derived from any council controlled trading organisations and comprises current and deferred tax. Other members of the Group are subject to normal taxation unless they have tax exempt status as charitable trusts.

Current tax is the expected tax payable on the taxable income for the year, using tax rates enacted or substantively enacted at the end of the reporting period, plus any adjustment to tax payable in respect of previous periods.

Statement of Financial Position

As at 30 June 2016

Council
Group

Note
Actual
2016
$000
Budget
2016
$000
Actual
2015
$000
Actual
2016
$000
Actual
2015
$000

ASSETS

Current assets

Cash and cash equivalents
11
94,009
1,249
65,913
103,623
75,598

Receivables from exchange transactions
13
11,621
10,662
6,611
12,199
7,492

Recoverables from non-exchange transactions
13
34,519
31,671
33,403
35,414
34,964

Other financial assets
14
315
-
150
315
150

Prepayments

11,500
12,096
12,453
11,962
12,987

Inventories

1,101
888
899
1,915
1,849

Non-current assets classified as held for sale
15
1,504
-
1,668
1,504
1,668

Total current assets

154,569
56,566
121,097
166,932
134,708

Non-current assets

Derivative financial assets
12
-
-
725
-
725

Receivables from exchange transactions
13
4,185
-
-
4,186
-

Other financial assets
14
12,865
10,473
9,403
14,343
10,851

Intangibles
16
26,737
28,936
21,465
26,815
21,568

Investment properties
17
211,237
196,566
201,557
211,237
201,557

Property, plant and equipment
18
6,645,975
6,674,860
6,595,900
6,659,487
6,608,226

Investment in controlled entities
19
5,071
3,809
5,071
-
-

Investment in associates and jointly controlled entity
20
19,465
19,504
19,465
138,419
137,666

Total non-current assets

6,925,535
6,934,148
6,853,586
7,054,487
6,980,593

TOTAL ASSETS

7,080,104
6,990,714
6,974,683
7,221,419
7,115,301

LIABILITIES

Current liabilities

Derivative financial liabilities
12
522
-
250
522
250

Payables under exchange transactions
21
42,627
59,122
45,429
45,703
49,922

Taxes and transfers payable
21
10,647
-
12,635
11,299
12,817

Revenue in advance
22
43,098
33,496
29,293
45,193
32,791

Borrowings
23
140,075
219,789
164,104
140,075
164,107

Employee benefit liabilities and provisions
24
7,189
6,845
6,306
8,707
7,467

Provision for other liabilities
25
10,953
11,790
15,207
10,953
15,207

Total current liabilities

255,111
331,042
273,224
262,452
282,561

Non-current liabilities

Derivative financial liabilities
12
38,208
-
17,937
38,208
17,937

Payables under exchange transactions
21
630
630
630
630
630

Borrowings
23
350,409
196,474
269,624
350,409
269,624

Employee benefit liabilities and provisions
24
995
1,708
1,096
1,056
1,157

Provision for other liabilities
25
50,250
23,945
41,840
50,250
41,840

Deferred tax
26
-
-
-
1,482
1,240

Total non-current liabilities

440,492
222,757
331,127
442,035
332,428

TOTAL LIABILITIES

695,603
553,799
604,351
704,487
614,989

EQUITY

Accumulated funds

1,269,134
1,269,134
1,269,134
1,293,162
1,293,162

Retained earnings

3,756,048
3,725,547
3,722,229
3,745,251
3,709,806

Revaluation reserves
27
1,382,337
1,429,106
1,383,201
1,496,198
1,497,062

Hedging reserve
28
(38,730)
137
(17,462)
(38,730)
(17,462)

Fair value through other comprehensive revenue and expense reserve
29
1,648
63
106
2,026
505

Non-controlling interest

-
-
-
284
316

Restricted funds
30
14,064
12,928
13,124
18,741
16,923

TOTAL EQUITY

6,384,501
6,436,915
6,370,332
6,516,932
6,500,312

TOTAL EQUITY AND LIABILITIES

7,080,104
6,990,714
6,974,683
7,221,419
7,115,301

The notes on pages 146 to 234 form part of and should be read in conjunction with the financial statements

Statement of Financial Position – Major budget variations

Significant variations from budget are as follows:

Current assets are $98.003m higher than budget primarily due to:

$92.760m more cash and cash equivalents held reflecting the near zero cash position used in the budget. Council continues to hold higher levels of investment deposits due to certain favourable interest rates and liquidity requirements

$3.807m of higher receivables and recoverables including $2.6m from asset sales

$1.504m of other assets re-classified from non-current to be as held for sale

Non-current assets are $8.613m lower than budget primarily due to:

$28.885m of lower than budgeted property, plant and equipment assets due to lower than budgeted capital expenditure

$2.199m of lower intangible assets also due to lower than budgeted capital expenditure

Offsetting these decreases are the following increases:

$4.185m of asset sales not due for payment until 2017/18

$1.409m of unrealised value in the investment in the LGFA

$14.671m increase in investment property assets with $13.773m directly from revaluations

$1.262m of unbudgeted equity investment value arising from WREDA’s acquisition of Grow Wellington in 2015/16

Total liabilities are $141.804m higher than budget due to:

$68.373m of higher borrowings partly due to the unbudgeted land purchases for the movie museum and convention centre, pre-funding of future debt repayments and other liquidity requirements

$38.208m of unbudgeted non-cash derivative financial liabilities

$25.099m of unbudgeted provisions largely due to the $12.006m increase in the weathertight homes provision

Offsetting these increases are the following decreases:

$5.848m fewer payables partly due to timing

$9.602m of extra revenue in advance primarily due to unrecognised capital grant funding associated with the housing upgrade project

Note 11: Cash and Cash Equivalents

Council
Group

2016
$000
2015
$000
2016
$000
2015
$000

Cash at bank
7,986
1,392
13,711
7,622

Cash on hand
23
21
35
34

Short term bank deposits up to 3 months
86,000
64,500
89,877
67,942

TOTAL CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS
94,009
65,913
103,623
75,598

Bank balances that are interest bearing earn interest based on current floating bank deposit rates.

Short term deposits are made with a registered bank, with a credit rating of at least A⁺, for varying periods of up to three months depending on the immediate cash requirements and short term borrowings of the Group, and earn interest at the applicable short term deposit rates.

Council holds short term deposits as part of its overall liquidity risk management programme. This programme enables Council to maintain its regular commercial paper programme and to pre-fund upcoming debt maturities. The combination of the commercial paper programme and holding short term deposits reduces Council’s cost of funds.

Note 12: Derivatives

Council
Group

2016
$000
2015
$000
2016
$000
2015
$000

Assets

Non-current assets

Interest rate swaps - cash flow hedges
-
725
-
725

Total non-current assets
-
725
-
725

TOTAL DERIVATIVE FINANCIAL INSTRUMENT ASSETS
-
725
-
725

Liabilities

Current liabilities

Interest rate swaps - cash flow hedges
522
250
522
250

Total current liabilities
522
250
522
250

Non-current liabilities

Interest rate swaps - cash flow hedges
38,208
17,937
38,208
17,937

Interest rate swaps - non-hedged
-
-
-
-

Total non-current liabilities
38,208
17,937
38,208
17,937

TOTAL DERIVATIVE FINANCIAL INSTRUMENT LIABILITIES
38,730
18,187
38,730
18,187

Derivative financial instruments are used by the Group in the normal course of business to hedge exposure to cash flow and fair value interest rate risk. The amounts shown above represent the fair values of these derivative financial instruments. Although these are managed as a portfolio, the Group has no rights to offset assets and liabilities and must present these figures separately.

Cash flow hedges are used to fix interest rates on floating rate debt (floating rate notes or commercial paper) or bank borrowings. Fair value hedges are used to convert interest rates on some fixed rate debt (bonds) to floating rates.

For further information on the Council’s interest rate swaps please refer to Note 28: Hedging Reserve (page 205) and Note 32: Financial instruments (page 212).

Relevant significant accounting policies

Derivative financial instruments include interest rate swaps used to hedge exposure to interest rate risk on borrowings. Derivatives are initially recognised at fair value, based on quoted market prices, and subsequently remeasured to fair value at the end of each reporting period. Fair value is determined by reference to quoted prices for similar instruments in active markets. Derivatives that do not qualify for hedge accounting are classified as non-hedged and fair value gains or losses are recognised within surplus or deficit.

Recognition of fair value gains or losses on derivatives that qualify for hedge accounting depends on the nature of the item being hedged. Where a derivative is used to hedge variability of cash flows (cash flow hedge), the effective part of any gain or loss is recognised within other comprehensive revenue and expense while the ineffective part is recognised within surplus or deficit. Gains or losses recognised in other comprehensive revenue and expense transfer to surplus or deficit in the same periods as when the hedged item affects the surplus or deficit.

As per the International Swap Dealers’ Association (ISDA) master agreements, all swap payments or receipts are settled net.

Note 13: Receivables and Recoverables

RECEIVABLES AND RECOVERABLES
Council
Group

2016
$000
2015
$000
2016
$000
2015
$000

Current

Receivables from exchange transactions
11,621
6,611
12,199
7,492

Recoverables from non-exchange transactions
34,519
33,403
35,414
34,964

Non-Current

Receivables from exchange transactions
4,185
-
4,186
-

TOTAL RECEIVABLES AND RECOVERABLES - NET
50,325
40,014
51,799
42,456

Receivables from exchange transactions
Council
Group

2016
$000
2015
$000
2016
$000
2015
$000

Trade receivables - debtors - net
5,890
4,878
5,282
5,065

Accrued income
3,131
1,733
3,131
1,733

Sundry receivables
6,785
-
7,970
694

TOTAL RECEIVABLES FROM EXCHANGE TRANSACTIONS - NET
15,806
6,611
16,383
7,492

Recoverables from non-exchange transactions
Council
Group

2016
$000
2015
$000
2016
$000
2015
$000

Taxes

GST recoverable
5,709
6,581
5,622
6,549

Rates recoverable
9,981
10,164
9,981
10,164

Total taxes
15,690
16,745
15,603
16,713

Transfers

Trade recoverables - debtors - net
7,879
6,373
8,392
8,267

Trade recoverables - fines - net
3,593
3,347
3,593
3,347

Total trade recoverables - net
11,472
9,720
11,985
11,614

Accrued income
5,408
5,197
5,408
5,197

Sundry recoverables
1,949
1,741
2,420
1,440

Total transfers
18,829
16,658
19,813
18,251

TOTAL RECOVERABLES FROM NON-EXCHANGE TRANSACTIONS - NET
34,519
33,403
35,416
34,964

Current trade, rates and sundry receivables and recoverables are non-interest bearing and receipt is generally on 30 day terms, therefore the carrying value approximates their fair value.

Receivables and recoverables
Council
Group

2016
$000
2015
$000
2016
$000
2015
$000

Receivables and recoverables from related parties

- Controlled entities
380
936
-
-

- Associates and jointly controlled entity
-
15
-
15

TOTAL RECEIVABLES AND RECOVERABLES FROM RELATED PARTIES
380
951
-
15

The movement in the provision for impairment of total receivables and recoverables is analysed as follows:

Provision for impairment of total receivables and recoverables
Council
Group

2016
$000
2015
$000
2016
$000
2015
$000

Opening balance
6,030
6,542
6,030
6,542

New provisions made
437
452
437
452

Release of unused provision
(166)
(14)
(166)
(14)

Amount of provision utilised
(118)
(950)
(118)
(950)

PROVISION FOR IMPAIRMENT OF TOTAL RECEIVABLES AND RECOVERABLES - CLOSING BALANCE
6,183
6,030
6,183
6,030

The ageing profile of total net receivables and recoverables at the reporting date is as follows:

Council
2016
2015

Gross
$000
Impaired
$000
Net
$000
Gross
$000
Impaired
$000
Net
$000

Trade and other receivables and recoverables

Not past due
31,868
-
31,868
21,864
-
21,864

Past due 0-3 months
9,229
(82)
9,147
8,540
(79)
8,461

Past due 3-6 months
2,538
(38)
2,500
2,859
(47)
2,812

Past due more than 6 months
12,873
(6,063)
6,810
12,781
(5,904)
6,877

TOTAL RECEIVABLES AND RECOVERABLES
56,508
(6,183)
50,325
46,044
(6,030)
40,014

Group
2016
2015

Gross
$000
Impaired
$000
Net
$000
Gross
$000
Impaired
$000
Net
$000

Trade and other receivables and recoverables

Not past due
33,142
-
33,142
24,203
-
24,203

Past due 0-3 months
9,352
(82)
9,270
8,549
(79)
8,470

Past due 3-6 months
2,567
(38)
2,529
2,894
(47)
2,847

Past due more than 6 months
12,921
(6,063)
6,858
12,840
(5,904)
6,936

TOTAL RECEIVABLES AND RECOVERABLES
57,982
(6,183)
51,799
48,486
(6,030)
42,456

The net receivables and recoverables past due for more than six months primarily relates to fines. Due to their nature, the collection pattern for fines is longer than that of trade debtors.

Relevant significant accounting policies

Receivables from exchange transactions

Receivables from exchange transactions arise when the Council is owed by another entity or individual for goods or services provided directly by Council and will receive approximately equal value in a willing arm’s length transaction (primarily in the form of cash in exchange). Examples of exchange transactions include parking services and metered water rates.

Recoverables from non-exchange transactions

Recoverables from non-exchange transactions arise when the Council is owed value from another party without giving approximately equal value directly in exchange for the value received. Most of the goods or services that Council provide are subsidised by rates revenue and therefore the exchange is unequal. Examples of non-exchange transactions include social housing rentals, parking fines and recreational centre activities.

Non-exchange transactions are comprised of either taxes or transfers. Transfers also include grants that do not have specific conditions attached which require return of the grant for non-performance.

An inflow of resources from a non-exchange transaction recognised as an asset is recognised as revenue, except to the extent that a liability is also recognised in respect of the same inflow.

As Council satisfies a present obligation recognised as a liability in respect of an inflow of resources from a non-exchange transaction recognised as an asset, it reduces the carrying amount of the liability recognised and recognises an amount of revenue equal to that reduction.

Note 14: Other financial Assets

Council
Group

2016
$000
2015
$000
2016
$000
2015
$000

Represented by:

Current
315
150
315
150

Non-current
12,865
9,403
14,343
10,851

Total other financial assets
13,180
9,553
14,658
11,001

Comprised of:

Financial assets at fair value through other comprehensive revenue and expense

Equity investments:

- Civic Assurance
766
633
766
633

- NZ Local Government Funding Agency (LGFA)
3,275
1,866
3,275
1,866

- Creative HQ incubator/accelerator shareholdings
-
-
1,427
1,401

Loans and deposits

Bank deposits - term greater than 3 months
-
-
-
-

LGFA - borrower notes
3,728
2,208
3,728
2,208

Loans to related parties - other organisations
5,096
4,696
5,096
4,696

Loans to external organisations
315
150
366
197

TOTAL OTHER FINANCIAL ASSETS
13,180
9,553
14,658
11,001

Equity investments

Civic Assurance is the trading name of New Zealand Local Government Insurance Corporation Limited, which provides insurance products and other financial services principally to local authorities. The Council holds a 4.78% (2015: 4.78%) shareholding in this entity with no present intention to sell.

The New Zealand Local Government Funding Agency Limited (LGFA), which commenced in December 2011 is an alternative debt provider majority owned by and operated for local authorities. The Council holds an 8% shareholding of the paid-up capital and as a shareholder will benefit from a return on its investment and as a borrower from lower borrowing costs. The LGFA has an AA+ (domestic long term) credit rating from Standard and Poors.

Creative HQ, a controlled entity of WREDA, has small shareholdings in various incubator and accelerator programme companies. These shares are held until the companies mature or cease operations.

Loans

The loans to related parties are concessionary in nature, since the loans have been granted on interest free terms. The movements in the loans are as follows:

Council
Group

2016
$000
2015
$000
2016
$000
2015
$000

Loans to related parties - other organisations

Wellington Regional Stadium Trust

(nominal value $15,394,893)

Opening balance
21
1,586
21
1,586

Amortisation of fair value adjustment
3
201
3
201

Movement in fair value
-
(1,766)
-
(1,766)

Closing balance at fair value
24
21
24
21

Karori Wildlife Sanctuary Trust

(nominal value $10,346,689)

Opening balance
4,675
4,312
4,675
4,312

Amortisation of fair value adjustment
397
363
397
363

Closing balance at fair value
5,072
4,675
5,072
4,675

Loans to other external organisations

Opening balance
150
150
197
150

New loan advances
442
-
442
75

Loan repayments received
(9)
-
(9)
-

Loan forgiveness
(118)
-
(118)
-

Loan write-off
(150)
-
(150)
-

Amortisation of fair value adjustment
-
-
4
-

Movement in fair value
-
-
-
(28)

Closing balance at fair value
315
150
366
197

TOTAL LOANS
5,411
4,846
5,462
4,893

The fair value movement on loans reflects the timing of their expected repayments and the interest free nature of the loan. Over the remaining life of the loans their fair value will be amortised back up to their full nominal value.

The amortisation rate applicable to the Wellington Regional Stadium Trust loan is 12.710%. Following notification from the Westpac Stadium Trust in 2015, the expected repayment terms of the loan by the Trust back to the Council was extended to 2070. The fair value of the loan was reduced accordingly.

During the adoption of the 2016/17 Annual Plan the Council agreed to the purchase of the Zealandia visitor centre building. Following this purchase, the Council loan to the Karori Wildlife Sanctuary Trust will be fully repaid. As the arrangement is not binding as at the end of the reporting period no adjustment has been made to the current/non-current classification of the loan.

Loans to other external organisations are generally suspensory loan arrangements associated with economic development grants provided by Council to achieve defined outcomes.  The loans are repayable in the event that the economic development outcomes agreed in providing the grant are not delivered. As agreed outcomes for the grants are met the loans are reduced accordingly.

Further information on the related parties is disclosed in Note 36: Related party disclosures.

Note 15: Non-current assets classified as held for sale

Council
Group

2016
$000
2015
$000
2016
$000
2015
$000

Opening balance
1,668
1,367
1,668
1,367

Disposals
(949)
(1,041)
(949)
(1,041)

Transfers from property, plant and equipment
1,504
1,668
1,504
1,668

Transfers to property, plant and equipment
(719)
(326)
(719)
(326)

TOTAL NON-CURRENT ASSETS CLASSIFIED AS HELD FOR SALE
1,504
1,668
1,504
1,668

Relevant significant accounting policies

Non-current assets classified as held for sale are valued at the lower of the carrying amount and fair value less costs to sell at the time of reclassification.

Non-current assets held for sale are separately classified as their carrying amount will be recovered through a sale transaction rather than through continuing use. A non-current asset is classified as held for sale where:

The asset is available for immediate sale in its present condition subject only to terms that are usual and customary for sales of such assets

A plan to sell the asset is in place and an active programme to locate a buyer has been initiated

The asset is being actively marketed for sale at a price that is reasonable in relation to its current fair value

The sale is expected to occur within one year or beyond one year where a delay has occurred which is caused by events beyond the Group’s control and there is sufficient evidence the Group remains committed to sell the asset

Actions required to complete the sale indicate it is unlikely that significant changes to the plan will be made or the plan will be withdrawn

A non-current asset classified as held for sale is recognised at the lower of its carrying amount or fair value less costs to sell. Impairment losses on initial classification are included within surplus or deficit

Note 16: Intangibles

Council
Group

2016
$000
2015
$000
2016
$000
2015
$000

Computer software

Cost - opening balance
49,256
39,849
49,965
40,491

Accumulated amortisation
(39,537)
(32,995)
(40,143)
(33,567)

Computer software opening balance
9,719
6,854
9,822
6,924

Acquired by direct purchase
17,445
6,774
17,476
6,859

Amortisation
(4,479)
(4,337)
(4,535)
(4,380)

Net disposals
-
(39)
-
(48)

Transfer from property, plant and equipment
-
467
-
467

Total computer software - closing balance
22,685
9,719
22,763
9,822

Cost
66,989
49,256
67,730
49,965

Accumulated amortisation
(44,304)
(39,537)
(44,967)
(40,143)

Total computer software - closing balance
22,685
9,719
22,763
9,822

Work in progress

Computer software
2,261
10,435
2,261
10,435

Total work in progress
2,261
10,435
2,261
10,435

Carbon credits

Cost - Opening Balance
1,311
575
1,311
575

Additions
672
768
672
768

Net disposals
(192)
(32)
(192)
(32)

Total Carbon credits - closing balance
1,791
1,311
1,791
1,311

TOTAL INTANGIBLES
26,737
21,465
26,815
21,568

Disposals and transfers are reported net of accumulated amortisation.

The decrease in work in progress for computer software reflects the ongoing realisation of Council’s commitment to enhancing its technological capabilities across a number of platforms. Council has embarked on replacing its core applications, a new electronic document records management system and a new asset management information system for its infrastructure assets.

Carbon credits

As part of the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) the Council received carbon credits from Central Government in recognition of the carbon absorbed by a portion of the Council’s green belt. For the year ending 30 June 2016 the Council received 37,954 credits (2015: 74,643). The Council purchased 25,641credits (2015: 67,874) in the market to cover the expected liabilities associated with landfill operations. During the year 34,078 credits (2015: 32,445) were surrendered to meet the Council’s ETS obligations for the 2015 calendar year. At 30 June 2016 the total number of credits held is 357,589 (2015: 328,072).

At 30 June 2016 the liability relating to landfill carbon emissions is $0.765m (2015: $0.161m).

Relevant significant accounting policies

Computer software

Acquired computer software is measured on initial recognition at the costs to acquire and bring to use and subsequently less any amortisation and impairment losses.

Typically, the estimated useful lives and amortisation rate range of these assets are as follows:

Asset Category
2016

Useful Life
(years)
Amortisation
Rate

Computer software
2 - 10
10 - 50%

Carbon Credits

Carbon credits comprise either allocations of emission allowances granted by the Government related to forestry assets or units purchased in the market to cover liabilities associated with landfill operations. Carbon credits allocated as a non-exchange transaction are initially recognised at fair value, which then becomes the deemed cost.  Carbon credits that are purchased are recognised at cost.

Gains and losses arising from disposal of intangible assets are recognised within surplus or deficit in the period in which the transaction occurs. Intangible assets are reviewed at least annually to determine if there is any indication of impairment. Where an intangible asset’s recoverable amount is less than its carrying amount, it will be reported at its recoverable amount and an impairment loss will be recognised. Losses resulting from impairment are reported within surplus or deficit.

Note 17: Investment properties

Council
Group

2016
$000
2015
$000
2016
$000
2015
$000

Opening balance
201,557
192,901
201,557
192,901

Additions by acquisition
1,862
10
1,862
10

Additions by subsequent expenditure
-
-
-
-

Disposals
(5,955)
-
(5,955)
-

Fair value revaluation movements taken to surplus/(deficit)
13,773
8,552
13,773
8,552

Transfer from property, plant and equipment
-
94
-
94

TOTAL INVESTMENT PROPERTIES
211,237
201,557
211,237
201,557

Wellington City Council’s investment properties including the waterfront investment properties were valued as at 30 June 2016 by an independent valuer, William Bunt (FNZIV, FPINZ), registered valuer and Director of Valuation Services for CBRE Limited.

The Council’s total investment properties comprise ground leases of $168.753m (2015: $160.058m) and land and buildings of $42.215m (2015: $41.499m) held for investment purposes.

Investment properties are properties which are held primarily to earn rental revenue and/or for capital growth. These properties include the Council’s ground leases and certain land and buildings.

Ground leases are parcels of land owned by the Council in the central city or on the waterfront that are leased to other parties who own the buildings situated on the land. The leases are generally based on 21-year perpetually renewable terms. As these parcels of land are held for investment purposes the rentals are charged on a commercial market basis.

Investment properties exclude those properties held for strategic purposes or to provide a social service. This includes properties which generate cash inflows as the rental revenue is incidental to the purpose for holding the property. Such properties include the Council’s social housing assets, which are held within operational assets in property, plant and equipment.

Relevant significant accounting policies

The basis of valuation varies depending on the nature of the lease. For sites that are subject to a terminating lease the approach is to assess the value of the rental revenue over the remaining term of the lease and add the residual value of the land at lease expiry. For sites subject to perpetually renewable leases values have been assessed utilising a discounted cash flow and arriving at a net present value of all future anticipated gross rental payments.

Borrowing costs incurred during the construction of investment property are not capitalised.

Investment properties are measured initially at cost and subsequently measured at fair value, determined annually by an independent registered valuer. Any gain or loss arising is recognised within surplus or deficit. Investment properties are not depreciated.

Note 18: Property, Plant and equipment

Summary
Council
Group

2016
$000
2015
$000
2016
$000
2015
$000

Property, plant and equipment - Opening balance
6,595,900
6,536,012
6,608,226
6,547,197

Additions
166,311
142,128
169,524
142,292

Disposals
(1,515)
(672)
(1,849)
(862)

Depreciation expense
(94,704)
(94,672)
(96,436)
(95,644)

Impairment losses
(133)
(5,072)
(582)
(5,072)

Revaluation movement
(211)
11,168
(211)
11,168

Transfer to non-current assets classified as held for sale
(1,504)
(1,668)
(1,504)
(1,668)

Transfer from non-current assets classified as held for sale
719
326
719
326

Transfer to intangibles
-
(467)
-
(467)

Transfer to investment properties
-
(94)
-
(94)

Movement in work in progress
(18,888)
8,911
(18,400)
10,789

Acquisition of controlled entity
-
-
-
261

TOTAL PROPERTY, PLANT AND EQUIPMENT
6,645,975
6,595,900
6,659,487
6,608,226

Relevant significant accounting policies

Property, plant and equipment consists of operational assets, restricted assets and infrastructure assets.

Operational assets include land, the landfill post-closure asset, buildings, the Civic Centre complex, the library collection, and plant and equipment.

Restricted assets include art and cultural assets, zoo animals, restricted buildings, parks and reserves and the Town Belt. These assets provide a benefit or service to the community and in most cases cannot be disposed of because of legal or other restrictions (for example, land declared as a reserve under the Reserves Act 1977.) The use of the asset may also be restricted such as the donated Basin Reserve land which must be retained for the purposes of providing a cricket and recreation ground with no permitted thoroughfare.

Infrastructure assets include the roading network, water, waste and drainage reticulation networks, service concession arrangement assets and infrastructure land (including land under roads). Each asset type includes all items that are required for the network to function.

Vested assets are those assets where ownership and control is transferred to the Council from a third party (eg infrastructure assets constructed by developers and transferred to the Council on completion of a subdivision). Vested assets are recognised within their respective asset classes as above.

Heritage assets are tangible assets with historical, artistic, scientific, technological, geophysical or environmental qualities that are held and maintained principally for their contribution to knowledge and culture. The Council and Group recognises these assets within these financial statements to the extent their value can be reliably measured.

Recognition

Expenditure is capitalised as property, plant and equipment when it creates a new asset or increases the economic benefits of an existing asset. Costs that do not meet the criteria for capitalisation are expensed.

Measurement

Property, plant and equipment is recognised initially at cost, unless acquired for nil or nominal cost (eg vested assets), in which case the asset is recognised at fair value at the date of transfer. The initial cost of property, plant and equipment includes the purchase consideration (or the fair value in the case of vested assets), and those costs that are directly attributable to bringing the asset into the location and condition necessary for its intended purpose. Subsequent expenditure that extends or expands the asset’s service potential is capitalised.

Borrowing costs incurred during the construction of property, plant and equipment are not capitalised.

After initial recognition, certain classes of property, plant and equipment are revalued to fair value. Where there is no active market for an asset, fair value is determined by optimised depreciated replacement cost.

Optimised depreciated replacement cost is a valuation methodology where the value of an asset is based on the cost of replacement with an efficient modern equivalent making allowance for obsolesce or surplus capacity. The remaining life of the asset is estimated and straight line depreciation applied to bring the replacement cost to a fair value.

Specific measurement policies for categories of property, plant and equipment are shown below:

Library Collections

Library collections are valued at depreciated replacement cost on a 3-year cycle by the Council’s library staff in accordance with guidelines outlined in Valuation Guidance for Cultural and Heritage Assets, published by the Treasury Accounting Team, November 2002.

Operational Land & Buildings

Operational land and buildings are valued at fair value on a regular basis or, whenever the carrying amount differs materially to fair value, by independent registered valuers. Where the information is available land and buildings are valued based on market evidence. The majority of Councils land and buildings are of a ‘non-tradeable’ or specialist nature and the value is based on the fair value of the land plus the optimised depreciated replacement cost of the buildings.

For earthquake prone buildings that are expected to be strengthened, the estimated cost to strengthen the building has been deducted from the optimised depreciated replacement cost.

Buildings that comprise the Social Housing portfolio have been valued on market based approach with the associated land value being established through analysis of sales and market evidence.

Restricted assets

Art and cultural assets (artworks, sculptures and statues) are valued at historical cost. Zoo animals are stated at estimated replacement cost. All other restricted assets (buildings, parks and reserves and the Town Belt) were valued at fair value as at 30 June 2005 by independent registered valuers. The Council has elected to use the fair value of other restricted assets at 30 June 2005 as the deemed cost of the assets. These assets are no longer revalued. Subsequent additions have been recorded at cost.

Infrastructure assets

Infrastructure assets (the roading network, water, waste and drainage reticulation networks and service concession arrangement assets) are valued at optimised depreciated replacement cost on a regular basis or, whenever the carrying amount differs materially to fair value, by independent registered valuers. Infrastructure valuations are based on the physical attributes of the assets, their condition and their remaining lives based on Council’s best information reflected in its assets management plans. The costs are based on current quotes from actual suppliers. As such, they include ancillary costs such as breaking through seal, traffic control and rehabilitation. Between valuations, expenditure on asset improvements is capitalised at cost.

Infrastructure land (excluding land under roads) is valued on a regular basis or, whenever the carrying amount differs materially to fair value, by independent registered valuers.

Land under roads, which represents the corridor of land directly under and adjacent to the Council’s roading network, was valued as at 30 June 2005 at the average value of surrounding adjacent land discounted by 50% to reflect its restricted nature. The Council elected to use the fair value of land under roads at 30 June 2005 as the deemed cost of the asset. Land under roads is no longer revalued. Subsequent additions have been recorded at cost.

The carrying values of revalued property, plant and equipment are reviewed at the end of each reporting period to ensure that those values are not materially different to fair value.

Other Assets

Plant and equipment and the Civic Centre complex are measured at historical cost and not revalued.

Impairment

The Council’s assets are defined as cash generating if the primary purpose of the asset is to provide a commercial return. Non-cash generating assets are assets other than cash generating assets. Property, plant and equipment assets, measured at fair value, are not required to be reviewed and tested for impairment.

The carrying amounts of cash generating property, plant and equipment assets are reviewed at least annually to determine if there is any indication of impairment. Where an asset’s, or class of assets’, recoverable amount is less than its carrying amount it will be reported at its recoverable amount and an impairment loss will be recognised. The recoverable amount is the higher of an item’s fair value less costs to sell and value in use. Losses resulting from impairment are reported within surplus or deficit, unless the asset is carried at a revalued amount in which case any impairment loss is treated as a revaluation decrease and recorded within other comprehensive revenue and expense.

The carrying amounts of non-cash generating property, plant and equipment assets are reviewed at least annually to determine if there is any indication of impairment. Where an asset’s, or class of assets’, recoverable service amount is less than its carrying amount it will be reported at its recoverable service amount and an impairment loss will be recognised. The recoverable service amount is the higher of an item’s fair value less costs to sell and value in use. A non-cash generating asset’s value in use is the present value of the asset’s remaining service potential. Losses resulting from impairment are reported within surplus or deficit, unless the asset is carried at a revalued amount in which case any impairment loss is treated as a revaluation decrease and recorded within other comprehensive revenue and expense.

Disposal

Gains and losses arising from the disposal of property, plant and equipment are recognised within surplus or deficit in the period in which the transaction occurs. Any balance attributable to the disposed asset in the asset revaluation reserve is transferred to retained earnings.

Work in progress

The cost of projects within work in progress is transferred to the relevant asset class when the project is completed and then depreciated.

The movements according to the individual classes of assets are as follows:

Council
Group

2016
$000
2015
$000
2016
$000
2015
$000

Operational assets

Land

Land - at cost - opening balance
-
-
-
-

Land - at valuation - opening balance
222,908
213,082
222,908
213,082

Total land - opening balance
222,908
213,082
222,908
213,082

Additions
21,741
1,322
21,741
1,322

Disposals
(1)
-
(1)
-

Revaluation movement
-
10,837
-
10,837

Transfer between asset classes
-
(1,680)
-
(1,680)

Transfer to non-current assets classified as held for sale
-
(559)
-
(559)

Transfer to investment property
-
(94)
-
(94)

Total land - closing balance
244,648
222,908
244,648
222,908

Land - at cost - closing balance
21,741
-
21,741
-

Land - at valuation - closing balance
222,907
222,908
222,907
222,908

Total land - closing balance
244,648
222,908
244,648
222,908

Buildings

Buildings - at cost - opening balance
-
69,409
-
69,409

Buildings - at valuation - opening balance
556,025
539,236
556,025
539,236

Total cost/valuation
556,025
608,645
556,025
608,645

Accumulated depreciation
-
(33,854)
-
(33,854)

Total buildings - opening balance
556,025
574,791
556,025
574,791

Additions
26,380
66,705
26,380
66,705

Depreciation expense
(20,348)
(22,435)
(20,348)
(22,435)

Disposals
(1,017)
(16)
(1,017)
(16)

Revaluation adjustment
(211)
331
(211)
331

Transfer between asset classes
1,680
(63,351)
1,680
(63,351)

Total buildings - closing balance
562,509
556,025
562,509
556,025

Buildings - at cost - closing balance
25,906
-
25,906
-

Buildings - at valuation - closing balance
556,802
556,025
556,802
556,025

Total cost/valuation
582,708
556,025
582,708
556,025

Accumulated depreciation
(20,199)
-
(20,199)
-

Total buildings - closing balance
562,509
556,025
562,509
556,025

Disposals and transfers are reported net of accumulated depreciation.

Council
Group

2016
$000
2015
$000
2016
$000
2015
$000

Landfill post closure costs ¹

Landfill post closure - at cost - opening balance
3,040
3,643
3,040
3,643

Accumulated depreciation
(2,437)
(2,301)
(2,437)
(2,301)

Total landfill post closure costs - opening balance
603
1,342
603
1,342

Depreciation expense
(145)
(136)
(145)
(136)

Transfer between asset classes
-
1
-
1

Movement in post closure costs
474
(604)
474
(604)

Total landfill post closure costs - closing balance
932
603
932
603

Landfill post closure - at cost - closing balance
3,265
3,040
3,265
3,040

Accumulated depreciation
(2,333)
(2,437)
(2,333)
(2,437)

Total landfill post closure costs - closing balance
932
603
932
603

Civic Centre complex

Civic Centre complex - at cost - opening balance
176,562
173,817
176,562
173,817

Accumulated depreciation
(60,954)
(58,165)
(60,954)
(58,165)

Total Civic Centre complex - opening balance
115,608
115,652
115,608
115,652

Additions
2,387
7,239
2,387
7,239

Depreciation expense
(2,739)
(2,793)
(2,739)
(2,793)

Impairment
-
(4,513)
-
(4,513)

Transfer between asset classes
(1,680)
23
(1,680)
23

Transfer to non-current assets classified as held for sale
(1,054)
-
(1,054)
-

Total Civic Centre complex- closing balance
112,522
115,608
112,522
115,608

Civic Centre complex - at cost - closing balance
173,965
176,562
173,965
176,562

Accumulated depreciation
(61,443)
(60,954)
(61,443)
(60,954)

Total Civic Centre complex- closing balance
112,522
115,608
112,522
115,608

Plant and equipment

Plant and equipment - at cost - opening balance
213,057
166,755
225,843
179,310

Accumulated depreciation
(92,456)
(84,860)
(99,817)
(91,250)

Total plant and equipment - opening balance
120,601
81,895
126,026
88,060

Additions
7,049
6,865
10,262
7,026

Depreciation expense
(11,890)
(11,712)
(13,622)
(12,684)

Disposals
(239)
(352)
(573)
(542)

Impairment
(133)
-
(582)
-

Transfer between asset classes
-
44,372
-
44,372

Transfer to intangibles
-
(467)
-
(467)

Acquisition of controlled entity
-
-
-
261

Total plant and equipment - closing balance
115,388
120,601
121,511
126,026

Plant and equipment - at cost
216,102
213,057
231,319
225,843

Accumulated depreciation
(100,714)
(92,456)
(109,808)
(99,817)

Total plant and equipment - closing balance
115,388
120,601
121,511
126,026

The Council’s share of the joint venture with Porirua City Council relating to the Spicer Valley Landfill is included in this asset class.

Disposals and transfers are reported net of accumulated depreciation.

Council
Group

2016
$000
2015
$000
2016
$000
2015
$000

Library collections

Library collections - at cost - opening balance
1,664
-
1,664
-

Library collections - at valuation - opening balance
14,817
14,812
14,817
14,812

Total cost/valuation
16,481
14,812
16,481
14,812

Accumulated depreciation
(2,096)
-
(2,096)
-

Total library collections - opening balance
14,385
14,812
14,385
14,812

Additions
1,887
1,665
1,887
1,665

Depreciation expense
(2,165)
(2,092)
(2,165)
(2,092)

Total library collections - closing balance
14,107
14,385
14,107
14,385

Library collections - at cost - closing balance
3,545
1,664
3,545
1,664

Library collections - at valuation - closing balance
14,818
14,817
14,818
14,817

Total cost/valuation
18,363
16,481
18,363
16,481

Accumulated depreciation
(4,256)
(2,096)
(4,256)
(2,096)

Total library collections - closing balance
14,107
14,385
14,107
14,385

TOTAL OPERATIONAL ASSETS
1,050,106
1,030,130
1,056,229
1,035,555

Infrastructure assets

Drainage, waste and water

Drainage, waste and water - at cost - opening balance
25,215
-
25,215
-

Drainage, waste and water - at valuation - opening balance
1,196,804
1,177,524
1,196,804
1,177,524

Total cost/valuation
1,222,019
1,177,524
1,222,019
1,177,524

Accumulated depreciation
(26,877)
-
(26,877)
-

Total drainage, water and waste - opening balance
1,195,142
1,177,524
1,195,142
1,177,524

Additions
39,538
25,235
39,538
25,235

Depreciation expense
(27,586)
(27,248)
(27,586)
(27,248)

Transfer between asset classes
(4)
19,631
(4)
19,631

Total drainage, water and waste - closing balance
1,207,090
1,195,142
1,207,090
1,195,142

Drainage, waste and water - at cost - closing balance
63,847
25,215
63,847
25,215

Drainage, waste and water - at valuation - closing balance
1,197,319
1,196,804
1,197,319
1,196,804

Total cost/valuation
1,261,166
1,222,019
1,261,166
1,222,019

Accumulated depreciation
(54,076)
(26,877)
(54,076)
(26,877)

Total drainage, water and waste - closing balance
1,207,090
1,195,142
1,207,090
1,195,142

Roading

Roading - at cost - opening balance
29,927
-
29,927
-

Roading - at valuation - opening balance
824,103
824,096
826,703
826,696

Total cost/valuation
854,030
824,096
856,630
826,696

Accumulated depreciation
(21,857)
-
(21,857)
-

Total roading - opening balance
832,173
824,096
834,773
826,696

Additions
58,732
29,927
58,732
29,927

Depreciation expense
(23,341)
(21,857)
(23,341)
(21,857)

Transfer between asset classes
537
7
537
7

Total roading - closing balance
868,101
832,173
870,701
834,773

Disposals and transfers are reported net of accumulated depreciation.

Council
Group

2016
$000
2015
$000
2016
$000
2015
$000

Roading - at cost - closing balance
88,659
29,927
88,659
29,927

Roading - at valuation - closing balance
824,639
824,103
827,239
826,703

Total cost/valuation
913,298
854,030
915,898
856,630

Accumulated depreciation
(45,197)
(21,857)
(45,197)
(21,857)

Total roading - closing balance
868,101
832,173
870,701
834,773

Service concession assets

Service concession assets - at cost - opening balance
-
-
-
-

Service concession assets - at valuation - opening balance
154,767
154,767
154,767
154,767

Total cost/valuation
154,767
154,767
154,767
154,767

Accumulated depreciation
(4,969)
-
(4,969)
-

Total service concession assets - opening balance
149,798
154,767
149,798
154,767

Depreciation expense
(4,969)
(4,969)
(4,969)
(4,969)

Total service concession assets - closing balance
144,829
149,798
144,829
149,798

Service concession assets - at cost - closing balance
-
-
-
-

Service concession assets - at valuation - closing balance
154,767
154,767
154,767
154,767

Total cost/valuation
154,767
154,767
154,767
154,767

Accumulated depreciation
(9,938)
(4,969)
(9,938)
(4,969)

Total service concession assets - closing balance
144,829
149,798
144,829
149,798

Infrastructure land

Infrastructure land - at cost - opening balance
192
-
192
-

Infrastructure land - at valuation - opening balance
35,818
38,007
35,818
38,007

Total infrastructure land - opening balance
36,010
38,007
36,010
38,007

Additions
3,208
512
3,208
512

Transfer between asset classes
-
(2,189)
-
(2,189)

Transfer from non-current assets classified as held for sale
320
-
320
-

Transfer to non-current assets classified as held for sale
-
(320)
-
(320)

Total infrastructure land - closing balance
39,538
36,010
39,538
36,010

Infrastructure land - at cost - closing balance
3,720
192
3,720
192

Infrastructure land - at valuation - closing balance
35,818
35,818
35,818
35,818

Total infrastructure land - closing balance
39,538
36,010
39,538
36,010

Land under roads

Land under roads - at cost - opening balance
2,950,197
2,947,969
2,950,197
2,947,969

Additions
224
891
224
891

Disposals
(258)
(304)
(258)
(304)

Transfer between asset classes
-
2,389
-
2,389

Transfer from non-current assets classified as held for sale
358
-
358
-

Transfer to non-current assets classified as held for sale
(377)
(748)
(377)
(748)

Land under roads - closing balance
2,950,144
2,950,197
2,950,144
2,950,197

TOTAL INFRASTRUCTURE ASSETS
5,209,702
5,163,320
5,212,302
5,165,920

Disposals and transfers are reported net of accumulated depreciation.

Council
Group

2016
$000
2015
$000
2016
$000
2015
$000

Restricted assets ²

Art and cultural assets

Art and cultural assets - at cost - opening balance
8,927
8,927
11,266
11,263

Additions
21
-
21
3

Transfer between asset classes
(281)
-
(281)
-

Art and cultural assets - closing balance
8,667
8,927
11,006
11,266

Restricted buildings

Restricted buildings - at cost - opening balance
36,627
35,470
36,627
35,470

Accumulated depreciation
(9,497)
(8,095)
(9,497)
(8,095)

Total restricted buildings - opening balance
27,130
27,375
27,130
27,375

Additions
4,386
1,507
4,386
1,507

Depreciation expense
(1,521)
(1,430)
(1,521)
(1,430)

Impairment
-
(559)
-
(559)

Transfer between asset classes
-
237
-
237

Restricted buildings - closing balance
29,995
27,130
29,995
27,130

Restricted buildings - at cost - closing balance
40,865
36,627
40,865
36,627

Accumulated depreciation
(10,870)
(9,497)
(10,870)
(9,497)

Total restricted buildings - closing balance
29,995
27,130
29,995
27,130

Parks and reserves

Parks and reserves - at cost - opening balance
211,888
210,179
211,888
210,179

Additions
284
864
284
864

Transfer between asset classes
(252)
560
(252)
560

Transfer from non-current assets classified as held for sale
41
326
41
326

Transfer to non-current assets classified as held for sale
(73)
(41)
(73)
(41)

Parks and reserves - closing balance
211,888
211,888
211,888
211,888

Town Belt - at cost
84,544
84,544
84,544
84,544

Zoo animals - at cost
500
500
500
500

TOTAL RESTRICTED ASSETS
335,594
332,989
337,933
335,328

Work in progress

Land
143
53
143
53

Buildings
23,569
22,698
23,569
22,698

Civic Centre complex
4,639
4,368
4,639
4,368

Plant and equipment
10,238
8,142
12,688
10,104

Library
474
390
474
390

Drainage, waste and water
5,038
3,838
5,038
3,838

Roading
6,173
28,745
6,173
28,745

Art and cultural
181
180
181
180

Restricted buildings
118
1,047
118
1,047

TOTAL WORK IN PROGRESS
50,573
69,461
53,023
71,423

TOTAL PROPERTY, PLANT AND EQUIPMENT
6,645,975
6,595,900
6,659,487
6,608,226

For restricted assets, valuation at cost means they are not subject to revaluation. Please refer to the significant accounting polices above for a more detailed explanation.

Disposals and transfers are reported net of accumulated depreciation.

Revaluation of property, plant and equipment

The Council’s operational land and buildings were valued as at 30 June 2015, and infrastructural land as at 30 June 2014 by William Bunt (FNZIV, FPINZI), registered valuer and Director of Valuation Services for CBRE Limited.

Library collections were valued as at 30 June 2014 by the Council’s library staff. The revaluation was carried out in accordance with guidelines outlined in Valuation Guidance for Cultural and Heritage Assets published by the Treasury Accounting Team, November 2002. An independent peer review was conducted by Michaela O’Donovan, Manager Service Design and Implementation, National Library of New Zealand.

The drainage, waste and water infrastructure and roading networks and the service concession assets were valued as at 30 June 2014 by John Vessey (MIPENZ), Partner of Opus International Consultants Limited.

Assets are valued at regular intervals by independent registered valuers or whenever the carrying amount differs materially to fair value. In the years which an asset class is not revalued, the Group assesses whether there has been any material change in the value of that asset class. The movement in asset values between 30 June 2014 and 30 June 2016 for the infrastructure assets were assessed using appropriate indices. The increase in asset value of 1.7% was not considered material by management and accordingly the assets were not revalued at 30 June 2016.

Further information on revaluation reserves and movements is contained in Note 27: Revaluation reserves.

Finance leases

The net carrying amount of plant and equipment assets held by the Council under finance leases is $0.216m (2015: $0.286m).

Significant acquisitions and replacements of assets

In accordance with the provisions of Schedule 10 of the Local Government Act 2002, information in respect of significant acquisitions and replacements of assets is reported within the Statements of Service Provision.

Core Assets

Included within the infrastructure assets above are the following core Council assets:

Council
2016

Closing book
value
Additions
Replacement
cost

Constructed
Vested

$000
$000
$000
$000

Water supply

- treatment plants and facilities
-
-
-
-

- other assets
535,184
15,033
1,644
945,331

Sewerage

- treatment plants and facilities
166,979
-
-
222,587

- other assets
315,259
10,852
1,296
774,822

Stormwater drainage
390,251
4,867
3,042
654,926

Flood protection and control works
-
-
-
-

Roads and footpaths
624,743
34,444
502
850,940

TOTAL CORE ASSETS
2,032,416
65,196
6,484
3,448,606

Council
2015

Closing book
value
Additions
Replacement
cost

Constructed
Vested

$000
$000
$000
$000

Water supply

- treatment plants and facilities
-
-
-
-

- other assets
529,724
13,265
933
939,317

Sewerage

- treatment plants and facilities
166,095
-
-
221,739

- other assets
318,492
7,959
332
768,062

Stormwater drainage
329,221
4,821
818
650,194

Flood protection and control works
-
-
-
-

Roads and footpaths
609,293
41,389
986
830,123

TOTAL CORE ASSETS
1,952,825
67,434
3,069
3,409,436

Water and roads assets are not on the valuation cycle this year. Therefore their replacement costs are based on the optimised replacement costs estimate figures in the valuation for the 2013/14 year measured against an appropriate index to get an indication of potential value changes. These indicators are the same as those used for Council’s Long-term plan (LTP). The Infrastructure indicators used are sourced from Business and Economic Research Limited (BERL) titled “Forecasts of Price Level Change Adjustors”.

The core value of roads and footpaths shown above excludes the value of retaining walls, street lighting, sumps and leads and other related assets totalling $243.4m (2015: $222.8m) that are included in the value of roading assets under infrastructure assets as disclosed above.

Service concession arrangements

The service concession arrangement asset class consists of the Moa Point, Western (Karori) and Carey’s Gulley waste water treatment plants which are owned by the Council but operated by Veolia Water under agreement. The assets are valued consistently with waste infrastructure network assets.

The Moa Point sewerage treatment plant is owned by the Council and operated by Veolia Water under a design, build and operate contract. Veolia Water also operates the Council owned Western (Karori) and Carey’s Gully treatment plants. The plants and building assets are included in the service concession arrangement assets above.

Veolia Water is required to fund all renewals and repairs and return the plants to the Council in 2020 with a future life expectancy of at least 25 years.

As asset owner, the Council incurs all associated operating expenses, namely management fees, depreciation and finance costs. In accordance with section100 of the Local Government Act 2002, the Council does not fully rates fund the plant’s depreciation expenditure.

Veolia’s monthly management fee is determined in accordance with annually adjusted tariffs. The contract terminates either on the expiry of the 25 year term (2020) or on the occurrence of a contract default event by either party. The contract’s right of renewal resides with the Council.

Insurance of assets

Council

2016
$000
2015
$000

Total value of property, plant and equipment
6,645,975
6,595,900

less assets (primarily land) excluded from insurance contracts
(3,581,335)
(3,505,600)

Value of assets covered by insurance contracts
3,064,640
3,090,300

The maximum amount to which assets are insured under Council insurance policies
895,000
820,000

In addition to Council’s insurance, in the event of natural disaster it is assumed that Central Government will contribute 60% towards the restoration of Council owned underground drainage, waste and water assets and the NZTA will contribute between 44-54% towards the restoration of roading assets.

The Council is not covered by any financial risk sharing arrangements in relation to its assets.

An insurance reserve fund of $9.566m (2015: $8.727m) exists to meet the cost of claims that fall below deductible limits under Council insurance policies. The reserve is funded annually through rates by $1.500m (2015: $0.750m). The net cost of claims applied to the reserve during the year amounted to $0.661m (2015: $1.632m). Refer to Note 30: Restricted Funds (page 207) for more information on the reserve.

Note 19: Investment in controlled entities

The cost of the Council’s investment in controlled entities is reflected in the Council’s financial statements as follows:

Investment in controlled entities
2016
$000
2015
$000

Wellington Cable Car Limited
3,809
3,809

Wellington Regional Economic Development Agency Limited (WREDA)
1,262
1,262

TOTAL INVESTMENT IN CONTROLLED ENTITIES
5,071
5,071

The equity investment represents the cost of the investment to the Council and includes all capital contributions made by the Council to controlled entities. The Council has only made equity investments as shareholders as noted in the table above. Nominal settlement amounts (i.e. $100) made in respect of Trusts, for which Council is the settlor, have not been recognised due to their materiality or are considered as equity investments.

Information on inter-company transactions is included in the Note 36: Related party disclosures (page 225).

The following entities are controlled entities of Council:

Controlled entities | Accounting Interest 2016 | Accounting Interest 2015 | Nature of business
Positively Wellington Tourism (Partnership Wellington Trust Inc.) | 100% | 100% | The operations have been transferred to WREDA – (see below) while the Trust is being wound up
Wellington Waterfront Limited | 100% | 100% | Acts as bare trustee for the Waterfront project
Wellington Cable Car Limited | 100% | 100% | Owns and manages the trolley bus overhead wiring system and the Cable Car
Wellington Museums Trust | 100% | 100% | Administers the Cable Car Museum, Capital E, the City Gallery, the Colonial Cottage Museum, the Carter Observatory, the Museum of Wellington City and Sea and the NZ Cricket Museum
Wellington Regional Economic Development Agency Limited (WREDA) | 80% | 80% | Manages the Wellington Venues Project and creates economic and social benefit by marketing the city with the private sector as a tourism destination. As at 30 June 2016 Grow Wellington (formerly a controlled entity of WREDA) was fully amalgamated into the operations of WREDA
- Creative HQ Limited | 80% | 80% | Business incubators
Wellington Zoo Trust | 100% | 100% | Manages and guides the future direction of the Wellington Zoo

The reporting period end date for all controlled entities is 30 June. Full copies of their financial statements can be obtained directly from their offices. Further information on the structure, objectives, the nature and scope of activities, and the performance measures and targets of the entities can be found in the relevant sections of the Statements of Service Provision.

Note 20: Investment in associates and jointly controlled entity

The cost of the Council’s investment in associates and a jointly controlled entity is reflected in the Council financial statements as follows:

Investment in associates and jointly controlled entity
Council

2016
$000
2015
$000

Chaffers Marina Holdings Limited
1,290
1,290

Wellington International Airport Limited
17,775
17,775

Wellington Water Limited
400
400

TOTAL INVESTMENT IN ASSOCIATES AND JOINTLY CONTROLLED ENTITY
19,465
19,465

The Council has a significant interest in the following:

Associates and Jointly controlled entities
Accounting Interest 2016
Accounting Interest 2015
Nature of business

Basin Reserve Trust
0%
(see below)
0%
Manages, operates and maintains the Basin Reserve

Chaffers Marina Holdings Limited
10.52%
10.52%
Holding company for Chaffers Marina Limited

- Chaffers Marina Limited
10.52%
10.52%
Owns and manages the marina

Wellington International Airport Limited
34%
34%
Owns and manages Wellington International Airport facilities and services

Wellington Regional Stadium Trust
0%
(see below)
0%
Owns and manages the Westpac Stadium

Wellington Water Limited
(previously Capacity Infrastructure Services Limited)
42.11%
42.11%
Manages all water services for Wellington, Lower Hutt, Upper Hutt and Porirua City Councils and Greater Wellington Regional Council

Full copies of the separately prepared financial statements can be obtained directly from their respective offices.

Associates

Basin Reserve Trust

The Basin Reserve Trust was established on 24 February 2005 to manage, operate and maintain the Basin Reserve. The Trust was jointly created with Cricket Wellington Incorporated (CWI). Wellington City Council and CWI each appoint two of the four trustees. Wellington City Council has significant influence over the Trust through the appointment of trustees, and receives benefits from the complementary activities of the Trust.

The Council no longer considers the Trust meets the requirements of PBE IPSAS 7 Investments in Associates to enable continued consolidation on an equity accounted basis. The Trust is still identified as an associate given the Council’s level of influence and financial support but due to the lack of an equity investment the Council believes it is no longer appropriate to include the Trust in the Group financial statements. 

Chaffers Marina

Chaffers Marina Holdings Limited and Chaffers Marina Limited have a reporting period end date of 30 June. The shares in Chaffers Marina Holdings Limited are held by Wellington Waterfront Limited in a fiduciary capacity. As at 30 June 2016 Council held a 10.52% interest in Chaffers Marina Holdings Limited (2015:10.52%) which has been recognised in the Group financial statements on an equity accounting basis reflecting the special rights (as set out in Chaffers Marina Limited’s Constitution) which attach to the golden share that it holds in Chaffers Marina Limited.

Wellington International Airport Limited

Wellington International Airport Limited has a reporting period end date of 31 March. The ultimate majority owner, Infratil Limited, has determined a different end of reporting period to Council, which is legislatively required to use 30 June. The Council owns 34% of the company, with the remaining 66% owned by NZ Airports Limited (which is wholly owned by Infratil Limited).

Wellington Regional Stadium Trust

Wellington Regional Stadium Trust was jointly created with Greater Wellington Regional Council and Wellington City Council has significant influence over the Wellington Regional Stadium Trust through the appointment of trustees and receives benefits from the complementary activities of the Trust.

The Council no longer considers the Trust meets the requirements of PBE IPSAS 7 Investments in Associates to enable continued consolidation on an equity accounted basis. The Trust is still identified as an associate given the Council’s level of influence and financial support but due to the lack of an equity investment the Council believes it is no longer appropriate to include the Trust in the Group financial statements.

Jointly controlled entity

Wellington Water Limited

Formerly trading as Capacity (Capacity Infrastructure Services Limited) and jointly created with Hutt City Council on 9 July 2003 the company has expanded its operations and ownership to include Upper Hutt and Porirua City Councils from 1 November 2013 and Greater Wellington Regional Council from 16 September 2014.

The company has a reporting period ending 30 June and has a dual share structure comprising A class shares (voting rights) and B Class shares (financial entitlements). The structure is as follows:

Class A shares
(voting rights)
Class B Shares
(financial entitlements)
Ownership
interest

Wellington City Council
150
200
42%

Hutt City Council
150
100
21%

Upper Hutt City Council
150
40
8%

Porirua City Council
150
60
13%

Greater Wellington Regional Council
150
75
16%

TOTAL SHARES ON ISSUE
750
475
100%

The Class A shares represent voting rights and are split evenly between the five Councils. The Class B shares confer the level of contributions and ownership benefits of each council. Council classifies this entity as jointly controlled because of the equal sharing of voting rights conferred through the Class A shares and the shareholder’s agreement, which constitutes a binding arrangement.

Wellington City Council chooses to use equity accounting to recognise its 42.11% ownership interest as determined by the proportionate value of Class B shares held.

Summary of Financial Position and Performance of associates and jointly controlled entity

The Council’s share of the assets, liabilities, revenues and surpluses or deficits of its associates and jointly controlled entity are as follows:

Assets
2016
$000
Liabilities
2016
$000
Revenues
2016
$000
Surplus/(Deficit)
2016
$000

Associates

Chaffers Marina Holdings Limited
626
171
105
(36)

Wellington International Airport Limited
326,110
153,852
38,593
12,805

Jointly controlled entity

Wellington Water Limited
4,248
3,438
19,499
42

Assets
2015
$000
Liabilities
2015
$000
Revenues
2015
$000
Surplus/(Deficit)
2015
$000

Associates

Chaffers Marina Holdings Limited
626
135
77
4

Wellington International Airport Limited
286,111
137,154
36,825
11,188

Jointly controlled entity

Wellington Water Limited
3,898
3,130
10,943
420

Value of the investments

The investment in associates and the jointly controlled entity in the Group financial statements represents the Council’s share of the net assets of the associates and the jointly controlled entity. This is reflected in the Group financial statements as follows:

Investment in associates and jointly controlled entity
Group

2016
$000
2015
$000

Chaffers Marina Holdings Limited

Opening balance
939
959

Change in shares during the year
-
(39)

Change in equity due to changed shareholding
-
15

Equity accounted earnings of associate
(36)
4

Closing balance - investment in Chaffers Marina Holdings Limited
903
939

Wellington International Airport Limited

Opening balance
135,960
133,860

Dividends
(12,059)
(12,950)

Equity accounted earnings of associate
12,805
11,188

Share of net revaluation of property, plant and equipment - movement
-
3,862

Closing balance - investment in Wellington International Airport Limited
136,706
135,960

Wellington Water Limited

Opening balance
768
336

Change in equity due to changed shareholding
-
12

Equity accounted earnings of jointly controlled entity
42
420

Closing balance - investment in Wellington Water Limited
810
768

TOTAL INVESTMENT IN ASSOCIATES AND JOINTLY CONTROLLED ENTITY
138,419
137,666

The Council’s share of the operating surplus or deficit results of the Chaffers Marina Holdings Limited, Wellington International Airport Limited and Wellington Water Limited is outlined in Note 9: Share of Associates’ and Jointly Controlled Entity’s surplus or deficit (page 158).

Note 21: Exchange transaction, taxes and transfers payable

Exchange transactions, taxes and transfers payable
Council
Group

2016
$000
2015
$000
2016
$000
2015
$000

Current

Payables under exchange transactions
42,627
45,429
45,703
49,922

Taxes and transfers payable
10,647
12,635
11,299
12,817

Non-current

Payables under exchange transactions
630
630
630
630

TOTAL EXCHANGE TRANSACTIONS, TAXES AND TRANSFERS PAYABLE
53,904
58,694
57,632
63,369

Comprised of:

Payables under exchange transactions
Council
Group

2016
$000
2015
$000
2016
$000
2015
$000

Exchange payables and accruals
36,712
39,358
39,782
43,663

Interest payable
3,059
2,951
3,059
2,951

Sundry payables
3,486
3,750
3,492
3,938

Total payables under exchange tranaction
43,257
46,059
46,333
50,552

Taxes and transfers payable
Council
Group

2016
$000
2015
$000
2016
$000
2015
$000

Taxes payable

GWRC rates
1,861
2,315
1,861
2,315

Other
991
1,144
1,207
1,312

Transfers payable

Creditors and accruals
3,674
4,797
4,076
4,797

Sundry payables
4,121
4,379
4,155
4,393

Total taxes and transfers payable
10,647
12,635
11,299
12,817

Exchange transactions, taxes and transfers payable to related parties
Council
Group

2016
$000
2015
$000
2016
$000
2015
$000

Controlled entities
1,515
1,455
-
-

Associates and jointly controlled entity
2,078
295
2,078
295

Total exchange transactions, taxes and transfers payable to related parties
3,593
1,750
2,078
295

Payables under exchange transactions, taxes and transfers payable are non-interest bearing and are normally settled on terms varying between seven days and the 20th of the month following the invoice date. Most of Council’s payables are exchange transactions as they are directly with another party on an arm’s length basis and are of approximately equal value. Non-exchange payables are classified as either taxes (eg. PAYE) or transfers payable (eg. Council grants).

Note 22: Revenue in advance

Council
Group

2016
$000
2015
$000
2016
$000
2015
$000

Exchange transactions

Lease rentals
3,416
3,605
3,416
3,605

Other
-
-
366
-

Taxes

Rates
1,350
876
1,350
876

Transfers

Wellington Venues operations
1,256
1,325
1,256
1,325

Inspection and licensing fees
3,393
2,909
3,393
2,909

Other
1,042
1,348
1,818
2,149

Liabilities recognised under conditional transfer agreements
32,641
19,230
33,594
21,927

TOTAL REVENUE IN ADVANCE
43,098
29,293
45,193
32,791

Relevant significant accounting policies

Liabilities recognised under conditional transfer agreements

Council and the Group have received non-exchange transfer monies for specific purposes, which apply to periods beyond the current year, with conditions that would require the return of the monies if they are not able to fulfil the agreement. The revenue from these agreements will only be recognised as the conditionals are fulfilled over time.

The primary liability recognised as being under a conditional transfer agreement is $28.474m relating to the capital grant received from the Crown for the housing upgrade project (2015: $14.463m).

Note 23: Borrowings

The Council maintains a prudent borrowings position in relation to our equity and annual revenue. Borrowings are primarily used to fund the purchase of new assets or upgrades to existing assets that are approved through the Annual Plan and LTP processes.

Gross Borrowings

The gross borrowings are comprised as follows:

Council
Group

2016
$000
2015
$000
2016
$000
2015
$000

Current

Bank facilities - short term - committed
-
2,000
-
2,000

Bank loans - term
22
5
22
5

Commercial paper
100,000
72,000
100,000
72,000

Debt securities - fixed rate bonds
-
5,000
-
5,000

Debt securities - floating rate notes
40,000
85,000
40,000
85,000

Finance leases
53
99
53
102

Total current
140,075
164,104
140,075
164,107

Non-current

Bank loans - term
3,907
3,069
3,907
3,069

Debt securities - fixed rate bonds
20,000
20,000
20,000
20,000

Debt securities - floating rate notes
326,500
246,500
326,500
246,500

Finance leases
2
55
2
55

Total non-current
350,409
269,624
350,409
269,624

TOTAL GROSS BORROWINGS
490,484
433,728
490,484
433,731

Net Borrowings

When the cash position of Council and the Group is taken into account the net borrowings position is comprised as follows:

Council
Group

2016
$000
2015
$000
2016
$000
2015
$000

Total gross borrowings
490,484
433,728
490,484
433,731

Less

Cash and cash equivalents (see Note 11)
(94,009)
(65,913)
(103,623)
(75,598)

TOTAL NET BORROWINGS
396,475
367,815
386,861
358,133

The Council’s borrowing strategy is to minimise liquidity risk by avoiding concentration of debt maturity dates and to ensure there is long term access to funds. Further information on the liquidity and market risks associated with borrowings is contained in Note 32: Financial instruments (page 212).

The following table shows the utilisation of the borrowing facilities available to the Group at the end of the reporting period. The table also indicates the current applicable maturity and interest rate ranges.

Group
Available
$000
Utilised
$000
Maturities
Rates
%

Bank overdraft - committed
1,500
-
-
-

Bank facilities - short term - uncommitted
5,000
-
-
-

Bank facilities - long term - committed
120,000
-
-
-

Bank loans - term
3,929
3,929
2016 - 2041
7.00

Commercial paper
100,000
100,000
2016
2.37 - 2.46

Debt securities - fixed rate bonds
20,000
20,000
2016 - 2023
4.06 - 5.48

Debt securities - floating rate notes
366,500
366,500
2016 - 2027
2.48 - 3.83

Finance leases
55
55
2017
10.22

Total
616,984
490,484

Security

Borrowings are secured by way of a Debenture Trust Deed over the Council’s rates revenue.

Internal Borrowings

Council borrows on a consolidated level and as such does not use internal borrowing and therefore does not prepare internal borrowing statements.

Ring fenced funds

The Council holds $62.906m (2015: $40.356m) of funds that may only be used for a specified purpose. These funds are not held in cash but are utilised against borrowings until required. The specified uses for these funds are as follows:

Housing upgrade project

As part of the agreement with the Crown for the Housing Upgrade Project an amount of $57.578m (2015: $36.460m), representing any as yet unused grant funding from the Crown plus the accumulated surpluses and deficits from the Housing activity, has been ring fenced for future investment in the Council’s social housing assets.

Waste reduction and energy

An amount of $5.328m (2015: $3.896m) related to accumulated surpluses and deficits from the Waste Reduction and Energy Conservation activity which, under the Waste Minimisation Act 2008, must be ring fenced for future investment in waste activities. Council is committed to a number of waste minimisation projects that will utilise these funds.

Note 24: Employee benefits and liabilities provision

Council
Group

2016
$000
2015
$000
2016
$000
2015
$000

Current

Short-term benefits

Payroll accruals
1,878
1,166
2,267
1,455

Holiday leave
5,256
5,028
6,385
5,900

Total short-term benefits
7,134
6,194
8,652
7,355

Termination benefits

Other contractual provisions
55
112
55
112

Total termination benefits
55
112
55
112

Total current
7,189
6,306
8,707
7,467

Non-current

Long-term benefits

Long service leave provision
-
-
49
49

Retirement gratuities provision
995
1,096
1,007
1,108

Total long-term benefits
995
1,096
1,056
1,157

TOTAL EMPLOYEE BENEFIT LIABILITIES AND PROVISIONS
8,184
7,402
9,763
8,624

Relevant significant accounting policies – general

A provision for employee benefit liabilities (holiday leave, long service leave and retirement gratuities) is recognised as a liability when benefits are earned but not paid.

Holiday leave

Holiday leave includes: annual leave, long service leave, statutory time off in lieu and ordinary time off in lieu. Annual leave is calculated on an actual entitlement basis in accordance with section 21(2) of the Holidays Act 2003.

Movements in material employee benefit provisions above are analysed as follows:

Retirement gratuities provision
Council
Group

2016
$000
2015
$000
2016
$000
2015
$000

Opening balance
1,096
1,207
1,108
1,219

Movement in required provision
(32)
(19)
(32)
(19)

Release of unused provision
(7)
(29)
(7)
(29)

Rediscounting of interest
59
75
59
75

Amount utilised
(121)
(138)
(121)
(138)

Retirement gratuities – closing balance
995
1,096
1,007
1,108

Background

The Council’s retirement gratuities provision is a contractual entitlement for a reducing number of employees who, having qualified with 10 years’ service will, on retirement, be entitled to a payment based on years of service and current salary. This entitlement has not been offered to Council employees since 1991. Based on the age of remaining participants the provision may not be extinguished until 2037, assuming retirement at age 65.

Relevant significant accounting policies – specific

Retirement gratuities are calculated on an actuarial basis based on the likely future entitlements accruing to employees, after taking into account years of service, years to entitlement, the likelihood that employees will reach the point of entitlement, and other contractual entitlements information.

Estimation

The gross retirement gratuities provision (inflation adjusted at 1.80%) as at 30 June 2016, before discounting, is $1.262m (2015: $1.435m). The discount rate used is 6.10%.

Other contractual provisions
Council
Group

2016
$000
2015
$000
2016
$000
2015
$000

Opening balance
112
77
112
77

New provision
55
112
55
112

Release of unused provision
-
(7)
-
(7)

Amount utilised
(112)
(70)
(112)
(70)

Other contractual provisions – closing balance
55
112
55
112

Background

The above provision is to cover estimated redundancy costs as at 30 June 2016 resulting from current restructuring within the Council.

Relevant significant accounting policies – specific

Other contractual provisions include termination benefits, which are recognised within surplus or deficit only when there is a demonstrable commitment to either terminate employment prior to normal retirement date or to provide such benefits as a result of an offer to encourage voluntary redundancy. Termination benefits settled within 12 months are reported at the amount expected to be paid, otherwise they are reported as the present value of the estimated future cash outflows.

Note 25: Provisions for other liabilities

Council
Group

2016
$000
2015
$000
2016
$000
2015
$000

Current

ACC Partnership programme
12
27
12
27

Landfill post closure costs
1,441
2,112
1,441
2,112

Weathertight homes
9,500
13,068
9,500
13,068

Total current
10,953
15,207
10,953
15,207

Non-current

Landfill post closure costs
15,330
13,708
15,330
13,708

Weathertight homes
34,920
28,132
34,920
28,132

Total non-current
50,250
41,840
50,250
41,840

TOTAL PROVISIONS FOR OTHER LIABILITIES
61,203
57,047
61,203
57,047

Relevant significant accounting policies – general

Provisions are recognised for future liabilities of uncertain timing or amount when there is a present obligation as a result of a past event, it is probable that expenditure will be required to settle the obligation and a reliable estimate of the obligation can be made. Provisions are measured at the expenditure expected to be required to settle the obligation. Liabilities and provisions to be settled beyond 12 months are recorded at their present value.

Movements in material provisions above are analysed as follows:

Landfill post closure costs
Council
Group

2016
$000
2015
$000
2016
$000
2015
$000

Opening balance
15,820
15,779
15,820
15,779

Movement in provision
479
(866)
479
(866)

Re-discounting of interest
932
1,114
932
1,114

Amount utilised
(460)
(207)
(460)
(207)

Landfill post closure costs – closing balance
16,771
15,820
16,771
15,820

Current
1,441
2,112
1,441
2,112

Non-current
15,330
13,708
15,330
13,708

Landfill post closure costs – closing balance
16,771
15,820
16,771
15,820

Background

The Council operates the Southern Landfill (Stage 3) and has a 21.5% joint venture interest in the Spicer Valley Landfill. It also manages a number of closed landfill sites around Wellington. The Council has responsibility for the closure of its landfills and to provide ongoing maintenance and monitoring of the landfills after they are closed.

As part of the closure of landfills, or landfill stages, the Council’s responsibilities include:

Final cover application and vegetation

Incremental drainage control features

Completing facilities for post closure responsibilities

Post closure responsibilities include:

Treatment and monitoring of leachate

Ground water and surface monitoring

Gas monitoring and recovery

Implementation of remedial measures such as needed for cover and control systems

Ongoing site maintenance for drainage systems, final cover and vegetation

The management of the landfill will influence the timing of recognition of some liabilities – for example, the Southern Landfill operates in stages. A liability relating to any future stages will only be created when the stage is commissioned and when refuse begins to accumulate in this stage.

The Council, as operator of the Southern Landfill, has a legal obligation to apply for resource consents when the landfill or landfill stages reach the end of their operating life and are to be closed. These resource consents will set out the closure requirements and the requirements for ongoing maintenance and monitoring services at the landfill site after closure.

Relevant significant accounting policies – specific

A provision for post-closure costs is recognised as a liability when the obligation for post-closure arises, which is when each stage of the landfill is commissioned and refuse begins to accumulate.

The provision is measured based on the present value of future cash flows expected to be incurred, taking into account future events including known changes to legal requirements and known improvements in technology. The provision includes all costs associated with landfill post-closure including final cover application and vegetation; incremental drainage control features; completing facilities for leachate collection and monitoring completing; facilities for water quality monitoring and completing facilities for monitoring and recovery of gas.

Amounts provided for landfill post-closure are capitalised to the landfill asset. The capitalised landfill asset is depreciated over the life of the landfill based on the capacity used.

The Council’s provision for landfill post-closure costs includes the Council’s 21.5% proportionate share of the Spicer Valley landfill provision for post-closure costs.

Estimations

The long term nature of the liability means there are inherent uncertainties in estimating costs that will be incurred. The provision has been estimated using known improvements in technology and known changes to legal requirements. Future cash flows are discounted using the rate of 6.10%. The gross provision (inflation adjusted at 2.29%), before discounting, is $23.576m as at 30 June 2016 (2015: $23.445m). This represents the Council’s projection of the amount required to settle the obligation at the estimated time of the cash outflow.

Stage 3 of the Southern Landfill has an estimated remaining capacity of 664,018m³ (2015: 780,000m³) and is expected to close in 2021. These estimates have been made by the Council’s engineers based on expected future and historical volume information.

The Council’s provision includes a proportionate share of the Spicer Valley Landfill provision for post closure costs. The Spicer Valley Landfill has an estimated remaining capacity of 407,000m³ (2015: 483,000m³) and an estimated remaining life out to 2022 (6 years).

Weathertight homes
Council
Group

2016
$000
2015
$000
2016
$000
2015
$000

Opening balance
41,200
50,393
41,200
50,393

Additional or increased provision made
12,006
980
12,006
980

Amount utilised
(8,786)
(10,173)
(8,786)
(10,173)

Weathertight homes - closing balance
44,420
41,200
44,420
41,200

Current
9,500
13,068
9,500
13,068

Non-current
34,920
28,132
34,920
28,132

Weathertight homes - closing balance
44,420
41,200
44,420
41,200

Background

This provision represents the Council’s estimated liability relating to the settlement of claims arising in relation to the Weathertight Homes Resolution Services (WHRS) Act 2006 and civil proceedings for weathertightness.

A provision has been recognised for the potential net settlement of all known claims, including those claims that are being actively managed by the Council as well as claims lodged with WHRS but not yet being actively managed. The provision also includes an amount of $2.056m (2015: $3.282m) as a provision for future claims relating to weathertightness issues not yet identified or not yet reported.

Movement in the provision

During the year $8.786m was paid as either part or full settlement of claims. An additional $12.006m was added to the provision after an actuarial re-assessment of the likely future costs to be incurred as explained below. The current / non-current split above reflects the expected timing of payments but is reassessed each year to take account of delays in claim negotiations and any mediation outcomes.

Estimation

The Council has provided for the expected future costs of reported claims. The provision for active claims is based on the best estimate of the Council’s expected future costs to settle these claims and is reviewed on a case by case basis. The estimate for claims which have been notified and are not yet actively managed and unreported claims is based on actuarial assessments and other information on these claims. The nature of the liability means there are significant inherent uncertainties in estimating the likely costs that will be incurred in the future. This represents the Council’s best estimate of the amount required to settle the obligation at the estimated time of the cash outflow. Future cash flows are inflation adjusted and discounted using an applicable discount rate. The provision is net of any third-party contributions including insurance, where applicable.

The provision is based on best estimates and actuarial assessments and therefore actual costs incurred may vary significantly from those included in this provision, especially for future claims relating to weathertightness issues not yet identified or not yet reported.

The significant assumptions used in the calculation of the weathertight homes provision are as follows:

Amount claimed

Represents the expected amount claimed by the homeowner and is based on the actual amounts for claims already settled.

Settlement amount

Represents the expected amount of awarded settlement and is based on the actual amounts for claims already settled.

Amount expected to be paid by the Council

Represents the amount expected to be paid by the Council out of any awarded settlement amount and is based on the actual amounts for claims already settled. This figure has been increasing over the last few years as it is becoming more common for the other parties involved in a claim to be either in liquidation or bankrupt, or have limited funds and be unable to contribute to settlement.

Timing of claim payments

Represents the expected timing of claim payments based on the expected length of time it takes to settle claims. This assumption is based on experience and the actual timings for claims already settled.

Percentage of homeowners who will make a successful claim

Historical data collected on the number of claims lodged has enabled assumptions to be made on the percentage of homes built in the last 10 years which may experience weathertightness problems and therefore the percentage of homeowner who may make a successful claim.

The table below illustrates the potential impact on surplus or deficit of changes in some of the assumptions listed above.

Council and Group
2016
$000

+10%
-10%

Assumption
Effect on
Surplus or Deficit

Amount claimed
4,442
(4,442)

Settlement level award
4,442
(4,442)

Council contibution to settlement
4,442
(4,442)

Timing of claim payments
-
-

Participation in FAP scheme
(1,756)
1,756

Change in percentage of homeowners who will make a successful claim
205
(205)

+2%
-2%

Assumption
Effect on
Surplus or Deficit

Discount rate
(1,758)
1,659

Funding of weathertight homes settlements

Council uses borrowings in the first instance to meet the cost of settlements with the associated borrowings subsequently being repaid through rates funding. To ensure that the funding of weathertight homes is fully transparent the associated settlement costs, borrowings and rates funding is reported annually.

Funding for weathertight homes liability
Council
Group

2016
$000
2015
$000
2016
$000
2015
$000

Opening balance
(23,207)
(18,530)
(23,207)
(18,530)

Funding for weathertight homes liability
8,125
6,662
8,125
6,662

Total amounts paid
(8,786)
(10,173)
(8,786)
(10,173)

Interest allocation
(1,551)
(1,166)
(1,551)
(1,166)

Closing balance funded through borrowings
(25,419)
(23,207)
(25,419)
(23,207)

Note 26: Deferred tax

Unrecognised temporary differences and tax losses

Deferred tax assets have not been recognised in respect of the following items:

Council
Group

2016
$000
2015
$000
2016
$000
2015
$000

Deductible temporary differences
-
-
559
461

Tax losses
1,037
1,951
1,165
1,951

TOTAL DEFERRED TAX ASSETS AND LIABILITIES
1,037
1,951
1,724
2,412

Under current income tax legislation, the tax losses and deductible temporary differences referred to above do not expire.

The unrecognised deferred tax asset in respect of the above items for the Council is $0.290m (2015: $0.546m) and for the Group $0.483m (2015: $0.675m).

Deferred tax assets have not been recognised in respect of these items as it is not probable that future taxable profits will be available against which the benefit of the losses can be utilised.

In 2016 $0.357m (2015: $0.244m) previously unrecognised tax losses, with a tax effect of $0.100m (2015: $0.068m) were recognised by the Group by way of a loss transfer arrangement.

As at 30 June 2016, the Group has a deferred tax liability of $1.482m (2015: $1.240m).

Relevant significant accounting policies

Deferred tax is provided using the balance sheet liability method, providing for temporary differences between the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities for financial reporting purposes and amounts used for taxation purposes. The amount of deferred tax provided is based on the expected manner of realisation or settlement of the assets and liabilities, and the unused tax losses using tax rates enacted or substantively enacted at the end of the reporting period.

Deferred income tax assets are recognised to the extent that it is probable that future taxable profit will be available against which they can be utilised.

Statement of Changes in Equity

For the year ended 30 June 2016

Council
Group

Note
Actual
2016
$000
Budget
2016
$000
Actual
2015
$000
Actual
2016
$000
Actual
2015
$000

EQUITY – Opening balances

Accumulated funds

1,269,134
1,269,134
1,269,134
1,293,162
1,293,162

Retained earnings

3,722,229
3,702,985
3,685,128
3,709,806
3,672,911

Revaluation reserves

1,383,201
1,429,106
1,372,033
1,497,062
1,482,005

Hedging reserve

(17,462)
137
(403)
(17,462)
(403)

Fair value through other comprehensive revenue and expense reserve

106
63
63
505
63

Non-controlling interest

-
-
-
316
-

Restricted funds

13,124
12,389
14,683
16,923
17,437

TOTAL EQUITY – Opening balance

6,370,332
6,413,814
6,340,638
6,500,312
6,465,175

CHANGES IN EQUITY

Retained earnings

Net surplus for the year

34,106
23,101
35,542
36,610
36,381

Transfer to restricted funds

(5,118)
(4,518)
(2,273)
(6,367)
(4,146)

Transfer from restricted funds

4,178
3,979
3,832
4,549
4,660

Transfer from revaluation reserves

653
-
-
653
-

Revaluation reserves
27

Fair value movement – property, plant and equipment – net

(211)
-
11,168
(211)
15,030

Effect of changed shareholding in associates

-
-
-
-
27

Transfer to retained earnings

(653)
-
-
(653)
-

Hedging reserve
28

Movement in hedging reserve

(21,268)
-
(17,059)
(21,268)
(17,059)

Fair value through other comprehensive revenue and expense reserve
29

Movement in fair value – Equity investments

1,542
-
43
1,542
43

Movement in fair value – Available for sale equities

-
-
-
(21)
399

Non-controlling interest

Movement of non-controlling interest

-
-
-
(32)
316

Restricted funds
30

Transfer to retained earnings

(4,178)
(3,979)
(3,832)
(4,549)
(4,660)

Transfer from retained earnings

5,118
4,518
2,273
6,367
4,146

TOTAL COMPREHENSIVE REVENUE AND EXPENSE

14,169
23,101
29,694
16,620
35,137

EQUITY – Closing balances

Accumulated funds

1,269,134
1,269,134
1,269,134
1,293,162
1,293,162

Retained earnings

3,756,048
3,725,547
3,722,229
3,745,251
3,709,806

Revaluation reserves

1,382,337
1,429,106
1,383,201
1,496,198
1,497,062

Hedging reserve

(38,730)
137
(17,462)
(38,730)
(17,462)

Fair value through other comprehensive revenue and expense reserve

1,648
63
106
2,026
505

Non-controlling interest

-
-
-
284
316

Restricted funds

14,064
12,928
13,124
18,741
16,923

TOTAL EQUITY – Closing balance

6,384,501
6,436,915
6,370,332
6,516,932
6,500,312

Total comprehensive revenue and expense attributable to:

Wellington City Council and Group

14,169
23,101
29,694
16,620
35,037

Non-controlling interest

-
-
-
-
100

14,169
23,101
29,694
16,620
35,137

The notes on pages 146 to 234 form part of and should be read in conjunction with the financial statements

Statement of Changes in Equity – Major budget variations

Significant variations from budgeted changes in equity are as follows:

Total closing equity is $52.414m lower than budget but, after accounting for opening equity being already $43.482m lower than budget due to the timing of the 2014/15 revaluations and the budgeting process; the change in equity for the reporting period is only $8.932m less than budgeted.

The main reasons for this lower than budgeted changes in equity are as follows:

$11.005m higher than budgeted net surplus

$1.542m of previously unrecognised value of equity investments

Offset by:

$0.864m decrease in revaluation reserves arising from disposals

$21.268m of decrease in the hedging reserve which is non-cash in nature

Equity

Equity is the community’s interest in the Council and Group and is measured as the difference between total assets and total liabilities. Equity is broken down and classified into a number of components to enable clearer identification of the specified uses of equity within the Council and the Group.

The components of equity are accumulated funds and retained earnings, revaluation reserves, a hedging reserve, a fair value through other comprehensive revenue and expense reserve and restricted funds which comprise special funds, reserve funds and trusts and bequests.

Restricted funds are those reserves that are subject to specific conditions of use, whether under statute or accepted as binding by the Council, and that may not be revised without reference to the Courts or third parties. Transfers from these reserves may be made only for specified purposes or when certain specified conditions are met.

Equity management

The Local Government Act 2002 (the Act) requires the Council to manage its revenues, expenses, assets, liabilities, investments, and general financial dealings prudently and in a manner that promotes the current and future interests of the community. Ratepayer funds are largely managed as a by-product of managing revenues, expenses, assets, liabilities, investments, and general financial dealings.

The objective of managing these items is to achieve intergenerational equity, which is a principle promoted in the Act and applied by the Council. Intergenerational equity requires today’s ratepayers to meet the costs of utilising the Council’s assets but does not expect them to meet the full cost of long term assets that will benefit ratepayers in future generations. Additionally, the Council has asset management plans in place for major classes of assets, detailing renewal and programmed maintenance. These plans ensure ratepayers in future generations are not required to meet the costs of deferred renewals and maintenance.

The Act requires the Council to make adequate and effective provision in its LTP and in its Annual Plan (where applicable) to meet the expenditure needs identified in those plans. The Act sets out the factors that the Council is required to consider when determining the most appropriate sources of funding for each of its activities. The sources and levels of funding are set out in the funding and financial policies in the Council’s LTP.

Note 27: Revaluation reserves

Council
Group

2016
$000
2015
$000
2016
$000
2015
$000

Land - opening balance
155,091
144,254
155,091
144,254

Revaluation recognised in other comprehensive revenue and expense
-
10,837
-
10,837

Land - closing balance
155,091
155,091
155,091
155,091

Buildings - opening balance
231,498
231,167
231,498
231,167

Revaluation adjustment
(211)
331
(211)
331

Transfer to retained earnings on disposal of assets
(653)
-
(653)
-

Buildings - closing balance
230,634
231,498
230,634
231,498

Library collections - closing balance
7,015
7,015
7,015
7,015

Drainage, waste and water - closing balance
547,533
547,533
547,533
547,533

Service concession assets - closing balance
70,619
70,619
70,619
70,619

Infrastructure land - closing balance
15,410
15,410
15,410
15,410

Roading - closing balance
356,035
356,035
356,035
356,035

Associates’ revaluation reserves - opening balance
-
-
113,861
109,972

Revaluation recognised in other comprehensive revenue and expense
-
-
-
3,862

Effect of changed shareholding in associates
-
-
-
27

Associates’ revaluation reserves - closing balance
-
-
113,861
113,861

Total revaluation reserves - closing balance
1,382,337
1,383,201
1,496,198
1,497,062

These revaluation reserves are represented by:

Opening balance
1,383,201
1,372,033
1,497,062
1,482,005

Revaluation recognised in other comprehensive revenue and expense
-
10,837
-
14,699

Revaluation adjustment
(211)
331
(211)
331

Transfer to retained earnings on disposal of assets
(653)
-
(653)
-

Effect of changed shareholding in associates
-
-
-
27

TOTAL REVALUATION RESERVES
1,382,337
1,383,201
1,496,198
1,497,062

The revaluation reserves are used to record accumulated increases and decreases in the fair value of certain asset classes.

For the period ending 30 June 2016 Council has only revalued its investment properties, which are revalued every year. The infrastructure land and network assets (Drainage, waste, water and roading) and the Library collection will be revalued in 2016/17 as per the normal 3-yearly cycle. Operational land and buildings are due for revaluation in 2017/18.

Revaluation movements are non-cash in nature and represent the restating of the Council’s assets, subject to revaluation, into current dollar values after taking into account the condition and remaining lives of the assets.

Relevant significant accounting policies

The result of any revaluation of the Group’s property, plant and equipment is recognised within other comprehensive revenue and expense and taken to the asset revaluation reserve. Where this results in a debit balance in the reserve for a class of property, plant and equipment, the balance is included in the surplus or deficit. Any subsequent increase on revaluation that offsets a previous decrease in value recognised within surplus or deficit will be recognised firstly, within surplus or deficit up to the amount previously expensed, and with any remaining increase recognised within other comprehensive revenue and expense and in the revaluation reserve for that class of property, plant and equipment.

Accumulated depreciation at the revaluation date is eliminated so that the carrying amount after revaluation equals the revalued amount.

While assumptions are used in all revaluations, the most significant of these are in infrastructure. For example where stormwater, wastewater and water supply pipes are underground, the physical deterioration and condition of assets are not visible and must therefore be estimated. Any revaluation risk is minimised by performing a combination of physical inspections and condition modelling assessments.

Note 28: Hedging Reserve

Council
Group

2016
$000
2015
$000
2016
$000
2015
$000

Opening balance
(17,462)
(403)
(17,462)
(403)

Cash flow hedge net movement recognised in other comprehensive revenue and expense
(21,268)
(17,059)
(21,268)
(17,059)

TOTAL HEDGING RESERVE
(38,730)
(17,462)
(38,730)
(17,462)

The hedging reserve shows accumulated fair value changes for interest rate swaps which satisfy the criteria for hedge accounting and have operated as effective hedges during the period.

The Council uses interest rate swaps to fix interest rates on floating rate debt (floating rate notes and commercial paper) to give it certainty over interest costs.

The Council uses hedge accounting to recognise any fair value fluctuations in these swaps through this reserve within equity. Using hedge accounting prevents any significant movement in interest rate exposure significantly affecting the Council’s ability to meet its balanced budget requirements.

Note 29: Fair value through other comprehensive revenue and expense reserve

Council
Group

2016
$000
2015
$000
2016
$000
2015
$000

Opening balance
106
63
505
63

Movements:

Civic Assurance

133
43
133
43

Local Government Funding Agency

1,409
-
1,409
-

Creative HQ shareholdings - available for sale

-
-
(21)
399

TOTAL FAIR VALUE THROUGH OTHER COMPREHENSIVE REVENUE AND EXPENSE RESERVE
1,648
106
2,026
505

This reserve reflects the accumulated fair value movement in the Council’s investment in Civic Assurance and the Local Government Funding Agency, for which there is no intention to sell. For further information refer to Note 14: Other financial assets (page 168).

In the Group, Creative HQ, a controlled entity of WREDA, has small shareholdings in incubator and accelerator programme companies. These shareholdings are fair valued annually and any movement is held within this reserve until the shares are disposed.

Note 30: Restricted Funds

Restricted funds are comprised of special reserves and funds that Council holds for specific purposes and trusts and bequests that have been bestowed upon the Council for the benefit of all Wellingtonians.

Council
Group

2016
$000
2015
$000
2016
$000
2015
$000

Special reserves and funds
13,639
12,702
17,094
15,635

Trusts and bequests
425
422
1,647
1,288

TOTAL RESTRICTED FUNDS
14,064
13,124
18,741
16,923

Special reserves and funds
Closing Balance
2015
$000
Additional Funds
2016
$000
Funds Utilised
2016
$000
Closing Balance
2016
$000

Council

City growth fund
2,976
3,050
(2,735)
3,291

Reserve purchase and development fund
999
-
(217)
782

Insurance reserve
8,727
1,500
(661)
9,566

Total Council
12,702
4,550
(3,613)
13,639

Controlled entities’ reserve funds
2,933
726
(204)
3,455

Total Group - Special reserves and funds
15,635
5,276
(3,817)
17,094

Nature and purpose, funding and utilisation

City Growth Fund (formerly the Wellington economic initiatives development fund)

This fund is part of an integrated approach to fostering growth in the economy. Funding of $3m was provided from previous surpluses and $2.735m was utilised during the year.

Reserve purchase and development fund

This fund is used to purchase and develop reserve areas within the city. During the year $0.217m was used to purchase Flagstaff Hill and other land for reserve purposes.

Insurance reserve

This reserve came into effect in 2001 and allows the Council to meet the cost of claims that fall below deductible limits under Council’s insurance policies. Annual additions to the reserve of $1.500m (2015: $0.750m) are funded through rates as identified in the Annual Plan. During the year $0.661m (2015: $1.632m) was used to meet below-excess insurance costs.

Controlled entities’ reserve funds

The restricted funds of the controlled entities relate to the Wellington Museums Trust and the Wellington Zoo Trust:

The Wellington Museums Trust has three reserves; a Capital Reserve, a Colonial Cottage Museum Collection reserve and a City and Sea Collection reserve. The two collection reserves are for the purpose of future museum acquisitions

The Wellington Zoo Trust has two reserves; an Animal Transfer Fund specifically for the transfer of animals and a Conservation Fund to specifically support field conservation

Trust and bequests
Closing Balance
2015
$000
Additional Funds
2016
$000
Funds Utilised
2016
$000
Closing Balance
2016
$000

Council

A Graham Trust
3
-
-
3

A W Newton Bequest
318
15
(15)
318

Charles Plimmer Bequest
-
550
(550)
-

E A McMillan Estate
6
-
-
6

E Pengelly Bequest
13
1
-
14

F L Irvine Smith Memorial
7
-
-
7

Greek NZ Memorial Association
5
-
-
5

Kidsarus 2 Donation
3
-
-
3

Kirkcaldie and Stains Donation
17
-
-
17

QEII Memorial Book Fund
19
1
-
20

Schola Cantorum Trust
7
1
-
8

Terawhiti Grant
10
-
-
10

Wellington Beautifying Society Bequest
14
-
-
14

Total Council - Trusts and bequests
422
568
(565)
425

Controlled entities’ trusts and bequests
866
523
(167)
1,222

Total Group - Trusts and bequests
1,288
1,091
(732)
1,647

Analysis of movements in trusts and bequests

Additional Funds

Trusts and bequests receiving additional funds during the year were those where interest has been applied in accordance with the original terms and conditions.

Charles Plimmer - Distributions through the Public Trust recognised as revenue - $550,000

Funds utilised

Trusts and bequests funds utilised during the year were:

Charles Plimmer Bequest - Botanical Gardens Children’s garden - $550,000

A W Newton Bequest - Fine Arts - $5,089

A W Newton Bequest - Sports Festival - $10,000

Nature and purpose

Other than those specific trusts and bequests discussed above, the other Council bequests and trusts are generally provided for library, educational or environmental purposes.

The Wellington Zoo Trust has a number of bequests, trusts and capital grants made to it for specific purposes, which are held as restricted funds until utilised. Further information on these can be found in the Wellington Zoo Trust annual report published on their website here.

Statement of Cash Flows

For the year ending 30 June 2016

Council
Group

Actual
2016
$000
Budget
2016
$000
Actual
2015
$000
Actual
2016
$000
Actual
2015
$000

CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES

Receipts from rates - Council
272,802
259,728
252,484
272,802
252,484

Receipts from rates- Greater Wellington Reginal Council
55,622
53,018
50,763
55,622
50,763

Receipts from activities and other revenue
119,920
136,363
127,366
131,199
148,920

Receipts from grants and subsidies - Operating
7,108
6,485
7,666
15,839
28,593

Receipts from grants and subsidies - Capital
38,918
36,026
48,244
39,679
37,906

Receipts from investment property lease rentals
11,025
9,135
10,211
11,025
10,211

Cash paid to suppliers and employees
(288,166)
(294,178)
(286,807)
(324,047)
(327,119)

Rates paid to GWRC
(56,288)
(53,018)
(50,876)
(56,288)
(50,876)

Grants paid
(38,384)
(35,583)
(28,524)
(18,543)
(13,713)

Income tax paid
-
-
-
(244)
(6)

Net GST (paid) / received
(925)
-
(1,180)
(2,329)
(972)

NET CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES
121,632
117,976
129,347
124,715
136,191

CASH FLOWS FROM INVESTING ACTIVITIES

Dividends received
12,179
11,000
13,082
12,218
13,082

Interest received
3,103
637
2,838
3,311
3,068

Loan repayments
277
-
-
277
-

Decrease in bank investments
-
-
20,000
-
20,000

Proceeds from sale of property, plant and equipment
592
2,650
2,290
1,023
2,447

Proceeds from sale of Investments
-
-
-
-
31

Proceeds from sale of Investment property
6,843
-
-
6,843
-

Loan advance made
(442)
-
-
(442)
(75)

Increase in investments
(1,520)
-
(824)
(1,520)
(822)

Cash from aquisition of controlled entity
-
-
-
-
668

Purchase of investment properties
(1,862)
-
(10)
(1,862)
(10)

Purchase of intangibles
(9,521)
(11,195)
(7,741)
(9,521)
(7,747)

Purchase of property, plant and equipment
(136,816)
(146,857)
(137,353)
(140,648)
(139,799)

NET CASH FLOWS FROM INVESTING ACTIVITIES
(127,167)
(143,765)
(107,718)
(130,321)
(109,157)

CASH FLOWS FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES

New borrowings
148,855
239,327
70,000
148,855
70,000

Repayment of borrowings
(92,099)
(197,932)
(55,390)
(92,099)
(55,390)

Interest paid on borrowings
(23,125)
(22,763)
(22,899)
(23,125)
(22,899)

NET CASH FLOWS FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES
33,631
18,632
(8,289)
33,631
(8,289)

Net increase/(decrease) in cash and cash equivalents
28,096
(7,157)
13,340
28,025
18,745

Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year
65,913
8,406
52,573
75,598
56,853

CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS AT END OF YEAR
94,009
1,249
65,913
103,623
75,598

The cash and cash equivalents balance above equates to the cash and cash equivalents balance in the Statement of Financial Position.

The notes on pages 146 to 234 form part of and should be read in conjunction with the financial statements

Wellington City Council acts as a collection agency for GWRC by including additional rates and levies in its own billing process. Once collected, the monies are passed to GWRC. The budget assumes that the inflows and outflows will offset each other and are shown as nil accordingly.

The Council has ring fenced funds of $62.906m m (2015: $40.356m) relating to the housing upgrade project and waste activities. For more information see Note 23: Borrowings (page 191).

Cash and cash equivalents for the purposes of the cash flow statement comprises bank balances, cash on hand and short term deposits with a maturity of three months or less. The statement of cash flows has been prepared using the direct approach subject to the netting of certain cash flows. Cash flows in respect of investments and borrowings that have been rolled-over under arranged finance facilities have been netted in order to provide more meaningful disclosures.

Operating activities include cash received from all non-financial revenue sources of the Council and Group and record the cash payments made for the supply of goods and services.

Investing activities relate to the acquisition and disposal of assets and investment revenue.

Financing activities relate to activities that change the equity and debt capital structure of the Council and Group and financing costs.

Statement of Cash Flows – Major budget variations

Cash flow budgeting is performed using various assumptions around the timing of events and any departure from these timings will affect the outcome against budget.

Significant variations from the cash flow budgets are as follows:

Net cash flows from operating activities were $3.656m higher than budgeted primarily due to:

$13.074m of higher receipts from property and water rates

$3.515m of higher receipts from operating and capital grants and subsidies

$6.012m of lower payments to suppliers and employees

Offset by:

$16.433m of lower revenue from activities and other revenue

$2.801m of higher grants paid

Net cash flows from investing activities were $16.598m lower than budget primarily due to:

$6.843m of unbudgeted investment property sales

$10.041m of lower purchases of property, plant and equipment assets due to lower capital expenditure (eg. lower housing upgrade project activity)

Net cash flows from financing activities were $14.999m higher than budget primarily due to:

$15.361m of a net increase in borrowings primarily due to the unbudgeted purchase of land for the movie museum and convention centre

Note 31: Reconciliation of net surplus to net operating cash flows

The net surplus from the Statement of Comprehensive Revenue and Expense is reconciled to the net cash flows from operating activities in the Statement of Cash Flows as follows:

Council
Group

2016
$000
2015
$000
2016
$000
2015
$000

Net surplus for the period
34,106
35,542
36,610
36,381

Add/(deduct) non-cash items:

Vested assets
(10,181)
(12,368)
(10,181)
(12,368)

Bad debts written off not prevously provided for
282
307
282
334

Depreciation and amortisation
99,183
99,009
100,971
100,024

Impairment of property, plant and equipment
132
5,072
581
5,072

Fair value changes in investment properties
(13,773)
(8,552)
(13,773)
(8,552)

Other fair value changes
(400)
(197)
(400)
(191)

Movement in provision for impairments of doubtful debts
153
(512)
153
(512)

Non-cash movement in provisions
12,079
1,045
12,550
1,651

Total non-cash items
87,475
83,804
90,183
85,458

Add/(deduct) movement in working capital: ¹

Exchange receivables and non-exchange recoverables
(10,826)
(2,083)
(6,962)
(650)

Prepayments
953
(800)
572
(1,200)

Inventories
(202)
70
(123)
(92)

Exchange transactions, taxes and transfers payables
(4,623)
(2,163)
(8,555)
(961)

Revenue in advance
13,805
17,186
12,837
18,854

Employee benefit liabilities
782
967
879
776

Provision for other liabilities
(7,908)
(10,210)
(7,908)
(10,401)

Total working capital movement
(8,019)
2,967
(9,260)
6,326

Add/(deduct) investing and financing activities:

Net (gain)/loss on disposal of property, plant and equipment
1,115
55
1,461
36

Net (gain)/loss on disposal of investment property
(888)
-
(888)
-

Dividends received
(12,179)
(13,082)
(160)
(163)

Interest received
(3,103)
(2,838)
(3,334)
(3,128)

Tax paid and subvention receipts
-
-
(205)
(6)

Interest paid on borrowings
23,125
22,899
23,119
22,899

Share of equity accounted surplus from associates
-
-
(12,811)
(11,612)

Total investing and financing activities
8,070
7,034
7,182
8,026

NET CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES
121,632
129,347
124,715
136,191

Excluding non-cash items.

Other Disclosures

Note 32: Financial Instruments

Financial instruments include financial assets (loans and receivables or recoverables and financial assets at fair value through other comprehensive revenue and expense), financial liabilities (payables and borrowings) and derivative financial instruments. Financial instruments are classified into the categories outlined below based on the purpose for which they were acquired. The classification is determined at initial recognition and re-evaluated at the end of each reporting period.

Relevant significant accounting policies

Financial instruments are initially recognised on trade-date at their fair value plus transaction costs. Subsequent measurement of financial instruments depends on the classification determined by the Council.

Financial Assets

Financial assets are classified as loans and receivables or financial assets at fair value through other comprehensive revenue and expense.

Loans and receivables comprise cash and cash equivalents, receivables or recoverables and loans and deposits.

Cash and cash equivalents comprise cash balances and bank deposits with maturity dates of three months or less

Receivables and recoverables have fixed or determinable payments. They arise when the Group provides money, goods or services directly to a debtor, and has no intention of trading the receivable or recoverable

Loans and deposits include loans to other entities (including controlled entities and associates), and bank deposits with maturity dates of more than three months

Financial assets in this category are recognised initially at fair value plus transaction costs and subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest rate method. Fair value is estimated as the present value of future cash flows, discounted at the market rate of interest at the reporting date for assets of a similar maturity and credit risk. Receivables or recoverables due in less than 12 months are recognised at their nominal value. A provision for impairment is recognised when there is objective evidence that the asset is impaired. As there are statutory remedies to recover unpaid rates, rates penalties and water meter charges, no provision has been made for impairment in respect of these receivables or recoverables.

Financial assets at fair value through other comprehensive revenue and expense primarily relate to equity investments that are held by the Council for long-term strategic purposes and therefore are not intended to be sold. Within the Group, small shareholdings are held in start-up companies, which are available for sale, until the companies mature or cease operations. Financial assets at fair value through other comprehensive revenue and expense are initially recorded at fair value plus transaction costs. They are subsequently measured at fair value and changes, other than impairment losses, are recognised directly in a reserve within equity. On disposal, the cumulative fair value gain or loss previously recognised directly in other comprehensive revenue and expense is recognised within surplus or deficit.

Financial assets are derecognised when the rights to receive cash flows have expired or have been transferred and the Group has transferred substantially all of the risks and rewards of ownership.

Financial Liabilities

Financial liabilities include payables under exchange transactions, taxes, transfers and borrowings. Financial liabilities with duration of more than 12 months are recognised initially at fair value plus transaction costs and subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest rate method. Amortisation is recognised within surplus or deficit. Financial liabilities with duration of less than 12 months are recognised at their nominal value.

On disposal any gains or losses are recognised within surplus or deficit.

The following tables provide an analysis of the Council’s financial assets and financial liabilities by reporting category as described in the accounting policies:

Council
Group

2016
$000
2015
$000
2016
$000
2015
$000

Financial assets

Loans and receivables

Cash and cash equivalents
94,009
65,913
103,623
75,598

Receivables from exchange transactions
15,806
6,611
16,385
7,492

Recoverables from non-exchange transactions
34,519
33,403
35,414
34,964

Other financial assets
9,139
7,054
9,190
7,101

Total loans and receivables
153,473
112,981
164,612
125,155

Financial assets at fair value through other comprehensive revenue and expense

Other financial assets
4,041
2,499
5,468
3,900

Total financial assets at fair value through other comprehensive revenue and expense
4,041
2,499
5,468
3,900

Hedged derivative financial instruments

Derivatives designated as cash flow hedges
-
725
-
725

Total hedged derivative financial instruments
-
725
-
725

Total financial assets
157,514
116,205
170,080
129,780

Total non-financial assets
6,922,590
6,858,478
7,051,339
6,985,521

TOTAL ASSETS
7,080,104
6,974,683
7,221,419
7,115,301

Financial liabilities

Financial liabilities at amortised cost

Payables under exchange transactions
43,257
46,098
50,552
48,417

Taxes and transfers payable
10,647
12,241
12,817
12,606

Borrowings
490,484
433,728
490,484
433,731

Total financial liabilities at amortised cost
544,388
492,067
553,853
494,754

Derivative financial instruments

Derivatives designated as cash flow hedges
38,730
18,187
38,730
18,187

Total derivative financial instruments
38,730
18,187
38,730
18,187

Total financial liabilities
583,118
510,254
592,583
512,941

Total non-financial liabilities
112,485
94,097
111,904
102,048

TOTAL LIABILITIES
695,603
604,351
704,487
614,989

Fair value

The fair values of all financial instruments equate or are approximate to the carrying amount recognised in the Statement of Financial Position.

Fair value hierarchy

For those financial instruments recognised at fair value in the Statement of Financial Position, the fair values are determined according to the following hierarchy:

Level 1 – Quoted market price – Financial instruments with quoted prices for identical instruments in active markets

Level 2 – Valuation technique using observable inputs – Financial instruments with quoted prices for similar instruments in active markets or quoted prices for identical or similar instruments in inactive markets and financial instruments valued using models where all significant inputs are observable

Level 3 – Valuation techniques with significant non-observable inputs – Financial instruments valued using models where one or more significant inputs are not observable

Group
2016
2015

Level 1
$000
Level 2
$000
Level 3
$000
Level 1
$000
Level 2
$000
Level 3
$000

Financial assets

Financial assets at fair value through other comprehensive revenue and expense
-
-
5,468
-
-
3,900

Derivative financial instruments

- Cash flow hedges
-
-
-
-
725
-

Financial liabilities

Derivative financial instruments

- Cash flow hedges
-
38,730
-
-
18,187
-

Reconciliation of fair value movements in Level 3
Council
Group

2016
$000
2015
$000
2016
$000
2015
$000

Financial assets at fair value through other comprehensive revenue and expense

- Equity investments

Opening balance - 1 July
2,499
2,473
3,900
2,473

Opening balance from acquisition
-
-
-
1,008

Purchases
-
-
65
-

Disposals
-
(17)
(18)
(23)

Gains or losses recognised in other comprehensive revenue and expense
1,542
43
1,521
442

Closing balance - 30 June
4,041
2,499
5,468
3,900

The level 3 equity investments comprise the Council’s shareholdings in the Local Government Funding Agency $3.275m (2015: $1.866m) and Civic Assurance $0.766m (2015: $0.633m). Refer to Note 14: Other financial assets (page 168) for more details.

Financial risk management

As part of its normal operations, the Group is exposed to a number of risks. The most significant are credit risk, liquidity risk and market risk, which includes interest rate risk. The Group’s exposure to these risks and the action that the Group has taken to minimise the impact of these risks is outlined below:

Credit risk

Credit risk is the risk that a third party will default on its obligations to the Group, thereby causing a financial loss. The Group is not exposed to any material concentrations of credit risk other than its exposure within the Wellington region. The maximum exposure to credit risk is represented by the carrying amount of each financial asset in the Statement of Financial Position and the face value of financial guarantees to related parties (refer Note 34: Contingencies (page 222)). There is currently no liability recognised for these guarantees as the Group does not expect to be called upon for payment.

The Group’s maximum exposure to credit risk at the end of the reporting period is:

Council
Group

2016
$000
2015
$000
2016
$000
2015
$000

Financial instruments with credit risk

Cash and cash equivalents
94,009
65,892
103,623
75,564

Derivative financial instrument assets
-
725
-
725

Receivables and recoverables

- Receivables
15,806
6,611
11,621
7,492

- Recoverables
34,519
33,403
35,414
34,964

Other financial assets

- Bank deposits - term
-
-
-
-

- LGFA borrower notes
3,728
2,208
3,728
2,208

- Loans to related parties - other organisations
5,096
4,696
5,096
4,668

- Loans to external organisations
315
150
366
225

Financial guarantees to related parties
278
500
278
500

Total financial instruments with credit risk
153,751
114,185
160,126
126,346

Receivables and recoverables balances are monitored on an ongoing basis with the result that the Group’s exposure to bad debts is not significant.

The Council is exposed to credit risk as a guarantor of the LGFA’s borrowings. Further information about this exposure is explained in Note 34: Contingencies (page 222).

Credit quality of financial assets

The credit quality of financial assets that are neither past due or impaired can be assessed by reference to Standard and Poor’s credit ratings.

Counterparties with credit ratings
Council
Group

2016
$000
2015
$000
2016
$000
2015
$000

Cash - registered banks

AA-
7,986
1,392
13,711
7,622

Short term deposits - registered banks

AA-
84,500
61,500
88,377
64,942

A+
1,500
3,000
1,500
3,000

Term deposits (greater than 3 months) - registered banks

AA-
-
-
-
-

Term deposits - borrower notes - NZ LGFA

AA+
3,728
2,208
3,728
2,208

Derivative financial instrument assets

AA-
-
725
-
725

Liquidity risk

Liquidity risk refers to the situation where the Group may encounter difficulty in meeting obligations associated with financial liabilities. The Group maintains sufficient funds to cover all obligations as they fall due. Facilities are maintained in accordance with the Council’s Liability Management Policy to ensure the Group is able to access required funds.

Contractual maturity

The following maturity analysis sets out the contractual cash flows for all financial liabilities that are settled on a gross cash flow basis. Contractual cash flows for financial liabilities include the nominal amount and interest payable.

Council
Group

2016
$000
2015
$000
2016
$000
2015
$000

Contractual cash flows of financial liabilities excluding derivatives

0-12 months
205,279
236,052
214,747
240,730

1-2 years
49,843
49,642
49,843
49,642

2-5 years
162,570
128,050
162,570
128,050

More than 5 years
186,650
136,273
186,650
136,273

Total contractual cash flows of financial liabilities excluding derivatives
604,342
550,017
613,810
554,695

Represented by:

Carrying amount as per the Statement of Financial Position
544,388
492,422
553,856
497,100

Future interest payable
59,954
57,595
59,954
57,595

Total contractual cash flows of financial liabilities excluding derivatives
604,342
550,017
613,810
554,695

The following maturity analysis sets out the contractual cash flows for all financial liabilities that are settled on a net cash flow basis. Contractual cash flows for derivative financial liabilities are the future interest payable.

Council
Group

2016
$000
2015
$000
2016
$000
2015
$000

Contractual cash flows of derivative financial liabilities

0-12 months
8,532
5,482
8,532
5,482

1-2 years
8,268
5,651
8,268
5,651

2-5 years
16,795
8,186
16,795
8,186

More than 5 years
9,372
753
9,372
753

Total contractual cash flows of derivative financial liabilities
42,967
20,072
42,967
20,072

Represented by:

Future interest payable
42,967
20,072
42,967
20,072

Total contractual cash flows of derivative financial liabilities
42,967
20,072
42,967
20,072

In addition to cash to be received in 2016/17 the Council currently has $121.5m in unused committed bank facilities available to settle obligations as well as $137.403m of cash, cash equivalents and receivables and is expected to have sufficient cash to meet all contractual liabilities as they fall due.

The Council is exposed to liquidity risk as a guarantor of all of LGFA’s borrowings. This guarantee becomes callable in the event of the LGFA failing to pay its obligations when they fall due. Information about this exposure is explained in Note 34: Contingencies (page 222).

The Council mitigates exposure to liquidity risk by managing the maturity of its borrowings programme within the following maturity limits:

Period | Minimum | Maximum | Actual
0 - 3 years | 20% | 60% | 37%
3 - 5 years | 20% | 60% | 30%
More than 5 years | 15% | 60% | 33%

Market risk

Market risk is the risk that the value of an investment will decrease or a liability will increase due to changes in market conditions. The Group uses interest rate swaps in the ordinary course of business to manage interest rate risks. A Treasury Committee, headed by senior management personnel and the Council’s treasury management advisors (presently PWC), provides oversight for financial risk management and derivative activities and ensures any activities are in line with the Liability Management Policy which is formally approved by the Council as part of the LTP.

Cash flow and fair value interest rate risk

Interest rate risk is the risk that the fair value or future cash flows of the Group’s financial instruments will decrease due to changes in market interest rates. The Group is exposed to interest rate risk from its interest-earning financial assets and interest-bearing financial liabilities. The Group is risk averse and seeks to minimise exposure arising from its borrowing activities primarily by entering into interest rate swap arrangements to fix interest rates on its borrowings.

The Group manages its cash flow interest rate risk by using interest rate swaps. These have the economic effect of converting borrowings from floating rates to fixed rates. The Council uses interest rate swaps to maintain a required ratio of borrowing between fixed and floating interest rates as specified in the liability management policy:

Minimum fixed rate
Maximum fixed rate
Actual % of fixed net debt
before interest rate swaps
Actual % of fixed net debt
after interest rate swaps

50%
95%
6%
92%

The table below shows the effect of the interest rate swaps at reducing the Council’s exposure to interest rate risk:

Council
Group

2016
$000
2015
$000
2016
$000
2015
$000

Financial instruments subject to interest rate volatility - before effect of interest rate swaps

Cash and cash equivalents
94,009
65,913
103,623
75,598

Bank deposits - term greater than 3 months
-
-
-
-

Bank facilities - short term
-
(2,000)
-
(2,000)

Bank loans
(3,929)
(3,074)
(3,929)
(3,074)

Commercial paper
(100,000)
(72,000)
(100,000)
(72,000)

Debt securities - floating rate notes
(366,500)
(331,500)
(366,500)
(331,500)

Total financial instruments subject to interest rate volatility - before effect of interest rate swaps
(376,420)
(342,661)
(366,806)
(332,976)

Effect of interest rate swaps in reducing interest rate volatility

Effect of Cash flow interest rate swaps - hedged
367,500
357,500
367,500
357,500

Effect of Cash flow interest rate swaps - non-hedged
-
-
-
-

Total effect of interest rate swaps in reducing interest rate volatility
367,500
357,500
367,500
357,500

Total financial instruments subject to interest rate volatility - after effect of interest rate swaps
(8,920)
14,839
694
24,524

These interest rate swaps have a nominal value which represents the value of the debt that they are covering (included above). This amount is not recorded in the financial statements; instead the fair value of these interest rate swaps is recognised. This represents the difference between the current floating interest rate and the fixed swap interest rate. At 30 June 2016 the fair value of the interest rate swaps was -$38.730m (2015: -$17.462m). This liability will reduce to zero as the swaps reach the end of their lives, and therefore do not represent a liability that the Council will be required to pay cash to settle.

Given that the interest rate swaps have terms that match with the borrowings (short term bank facilities, commercial paper and debt securities), it is appropriate to include the effect of the interest rate swaps on the borrowings interest rate and present the net effective interest rates for the underlying borrowings:

Weighted effective interest rates
Council
Group

2016
%
2015
%
2016
%
2015
%

Investments

Cash and cash equivalents
2.99
3.76
2.89
3.47

LGFA - borrower notes
2.80
3.96
2.80
3.96

Loans to related parties
-
-
-
-

Loans to external organisations
-
-
-
-

Borrowings

Bank facilities - short term
-
4.63
-
4.63

Bank loans
7.00
7.00
7.00
7.00

Commercial paper
2.41
3.65
2.41
3.65

Debt securities - fixed
4.84
4.93
4.84
4.93

Debt securities - floating
2.96
4.22
2.96
4.22

Derivative financial instruments - hedged
4.63
4.76
4.63
4.76

Finance leases
10.22
10.22
10.24
10.24

Loans to related parties, being the loans to the Wellington Regional Stadium Trust and to the Karori Wildlife Sanctuary Trust, are both on interest free terms.

Sensitivity analysis

While the Council has significantly reduced the impact of short-term fluctuations on the Group’s earnings through interest rate swap arrangements, there is still some exposure to changes in interest rates.

The tables below illustrate the potential surplus and deficit impact of a 1% change in interest rates based on the Council’s and the Group’s exposures at the end of the reporting period:

Council
2016
$000

+1%
-1%
+1%
-1%

Interest rate risk
Note
Effect on Surplus
or Deficit
Effect on Other
Comprehensive Revenue
and Expense

Financial assets

Cash and cash equivalents
a
940
(940)
-
-

LGFA - borrower notes

37
(37)
-
-

Derivatives - Interest rate swaps - hedged
b
-
-
-
-

Financial liabilities

Derivatives - interest rate swaps - hedged
b
-
-
21,400
(23,043)

Debt securities - floating rate notes
c
(960)
960
-
-

Debt securities - fixed rate bonds
d
-
-
-
-

Bank term loans
e
-
-
-
-

Commercial paper
f
(280)
280
-
-

Total sensitivity to interest rate risk

(263)
263
21,400
(23,043)

a. Cash and cash equivalents

Council funds are in a number of different registered bank accounts with interest payable on the aggregation of all accounts. A movement in interest rates of plus or minus 1% has an effect on interest revenue of $0.940m.

b. Derivatives - hedged interest rate swaps

Derivatives include interest rate swaps with a fair value totalling -$38.730m. A movement in interest rates of plus 1% has an effect on increasing the unrealised value of the hedged interest rate swaps by $21.400m. A movement in interest rates of minus 1% has an effect on reducing the unrealised value of the hedged interest rate swaps by $23.045m.

c. Debt securities – floating rate notes

Debt securities at floating rates total $366.500m. The full exposure to changes in interest rates has been reduced because the Council has $270.500m of this debt at fixed rates through interest rate swaps. A movement in interest rates of plus or minus 1% has an effect on the interest expense of $0.960m.

d. Debt Securities – fixed rate bonds

Council has $20m of fixed rate bonds which are not exposed to interest rate changes.

e. Bank Loan

Council, through its joint venture with Porirua City Council has a bank term loan of $3.929m. This loan consists of various loans provided to the joint venture through Porirua City Council borrowing. The interest rate applied is fixed at 7% for the joint venture partners and is not subject to interest rate risk.

f. Commercial paper

Council has a Commercial Paper programme which is subject to floating rates and totals $100m. The full exposure to changes in interest rates has been reduced because the Council has $72m of this debt at fixed rates through interest rate swaps. A movement in interest rates of plus or minus 1% has an effect on the interest expense of $0.280m.

Note 33: Commitments

Capital commitments
Council
Group

2016
$000
2015
$000
2016
$000
2015
$000

Approved and contracted - property, plant and equipment
9,771
35,368
9,771
35,369

Approved and contracted - investment properties
130
3
130
3

Approved and contracted - intangibles
461
1,891
461
1,891

Approved and contracted - share of associates
-
-
20,190
12,194

Approved and contracted - share of joint ventures
-
-
-
-

TOTAL CAPITAL COMMITMENTS
10,362
37,262
30,552
49,457

The capital commitments above represents signed contracts in place at the end of the reporting period.

The contracts will often span more than one financial year and may include capital expenditure carried forward from 2015/16 to future years.

Lease commitments

Operating leases – Group as lessee

The Group leases certain items of plant, equipment, land and buildings under various non-cancellable operating lease agreements.

The lease terms are between 2 and 21 years and the majority of the lease agreements are generally renewable at the end of the lease period at market rates.

The amount of minimum payments for non-cancellable operating leases is recognised as an expense in Note 7: Expenditure on operating activities (page 154).

Relevant significant accounting policies

Leases where the lessor retains substantially all the risks and rewards of ownership of the leased items are classified as operating leases. Payments made under operating leases are recognised within surplus or deficit on a straight-line basis over the term of the lease. Lease incentives received are recognised within surplus or deficit over the term of the lease as they form an integral part of the total lease payment.

The future expenditure committed by these leases is analysed as follows:

Non-cancellable operating lease commitments as lessee
Council
Group

2016
$000
2015
$000
2016
$000
2015
$000

Plant and equipment

Not later than one year
21
30
238
92

Later than one year and not later than five years
2
19
174
93

Later than five years
-
-
-
-

Land and buildings

Not later than one year
1,246
821
1,696
1,332

Later than one year and not later than five years
4,121
1,977
4,481
2,477

Later than five years
2,213
1,317
2,213
1,317

TOTAL NON-CANCELLABLE OPERATING LEASE COMMITMENTS AS LESSEE
7,603
4,164
8,802
5,311

Operating leases – Group as lessor

The Group has also entered into commercial property leases of its investment property portfolio and other land and buildings.

The land and buildings held for investment purposes are properties which are not held for operational purposes and are leased to external parties.

Ground leases are parcels of land owned by the Group in the central city or on the waterfront that are leased to other parties who own the buildings situated on the land. The leases are generally based on 21-year perpetually renewable terms. As these parcels of land are held for investment purposes the rentals are charged on a commercial market basis.

The land and buildings not held for investment purposes are either used to accommodate the Group’s operational activities or are held for purposes such as road widening, heritage, or are being monitored for compliance reasons. In some cases, parts of these assets are leased to external parties on a commercial basis. The terms of these commercial leases generally range from 1 to 15 years.

Relevant significant accounting policies

Rental revenue is recognised on a straight-line basis over the lease term.

The committed revenues expected from these lease portfolios are analysed as follows:

Non-cancellable operating lease commitments as lessor
Council
Group

2016
$000
2015
$000
2016
$000
2015
$000

Investment properties

Not later than one year
9,605
10,026
9,605
10,026

Later than one year and not later than five years
37,258
37,871
37,258
37,871

Later than five years
69,521
78,110
69,521
78,110

Land and buildings

Not later than one year
2,284
2,892
2,134
2,244

Later than one year and not later than five years
5,576
6,024
5,256
5,327

Later than five years
9,312
9,177
9,305
9,177

TOTAL NON-CANCELLABLE OPERATING LEASE COMMITMENTS AS LESSOR
133,556
144,100
133,079
142,755

Commitments to related parties

The Council and Group have no commitments to key management personnel beyond normal employment obligations.

Note 34: Contingencies

Contingent liabilities
Council
Group

2016
$000
2015
$000
2016
$000
2015
$000

Financial guarantees to community groups
278
500
278
500

Uncalled capital - LGFA
1,866
1,866
1,866
1,866

Other legal proceedings
268
202
268
202

Share of associates’ contingent liabilities
-
-
-
-

Share of joint ventures’ contingent liabilities
-
-
-
-

TOTAL CONTINGENT LIABILITIES
2,412
2,568
2,412
2,568

Contingent assets

The Council and Group have no contingent assets as at 30 June 2016 (2015: $Nil).

Relevant significant accounting policies

Contingent liabilities and contingent assets

Contingent liabilities and contingent assets are disclosed at the point at which the contingency is evident. Contingent liabilities are disclosed if the possibility they will crystallise is not remote. Contingent assets are disclosed if it is probable the benefits will be realised.

Financial guarantee contract

A financial guarantee contract is a contract that requires the Group to make specified payments to reimburse the contract holder for a loss it incurs because a specified debtor fails to make payment when due.

Financial guarantee contracts are initially recognised at fair value. The Group measures the fair value of a financial guarantee by determining the probability of the guarantee being called by the holder. The probability factor is then applied to the principal and the outcome discounted to present value.

Financial guarantees are subsequently measured at the higher of the Group’s best estimate of the obligation or the amount initially recognised less any amortisation.

Karori Wildlife Sanctuary Trust (Zealandia)

The Council has provided a guarantee over a term loan facility to a maximum limit of $1.550m plus any outstanding interest and enforcement costs. The loan matures 30 June 2020 and repayments are being met on schedule.

NZ Local Government Funding Agency Limited (LGFA)

Council is one of 30 local authority shareholders and 8 local authority guarantors of the LGFA. In that regard Council has uncalled capital of $1.866m. When aggregated with the uncalled capital of other shareholders, $20m is available in the event that an imminent default is identified. Also, together with the other shareholders and guarantors, Council is a guarantor of all of LGFA’s borrowings. At 30 June 2016, LGFA had borrowings totalling $6,220m (2015: $4,955m).

Financial reporting standards require Council to recognise the guarantee liability at fair value. However, the Council has been unable to determine a sufficiently reliable fair value for the guarantee, and therefore has not recognised a liability. The Council considers the risk of LGFA defaulting on repayment of interest or capital to be very low on the basis that we are not aware of any local authority, which is a member of the LGFA, that has had debt default events in New Zealand; and local government legislation would enable local authorities to levy a rate to recover sufficient funds to meet any debt obligations if further funds were required. Council considers that even if it was called upon to contribute the cost would not be material.

Other legal proceedings

Other legal proceedings are current claims against the Council and Group as a result of past events which are currently being contested. The amounts shown reflect potential liability for financial reporting purposes only and do not represent an admission that any claim is valid. The outcome of these remains uncertain at the end of the reporting period. The maximum exposure to Council is anticipated to be less than $0.268m.

Unquantified contingent liabilities

The Government’s Weathertight Homes Financial Assistance Package aims to help people get their non-weathertight homes fixed faster, and centres on the Government and local authorities each contributing 25% of agreed repair costs and affected homeowners funding the remaining 50% backed by a Government loan guarantee. A provision for known claims and future claims has been made (refer to Note 25: Provisions for other liabilities (page 195)). The impact and cost of future and unknown claims cannot be measured reliably and therefore the Council and Group have an unquantified contingent liability.

On 11 October 2012 the Supreme Court of New Zealand released a decision clarifying that councils owe a duty of care when approving plans and inspecting construction of a building which was not purely a residential building. The Court held that there was no principled basis for distinguishing between the liability of those who played a role in the construction of residential buildings as against the construction of non-residential buildings. This extends the scope of the potential liability for the Council to include non-residential buildings consented under the Building Act 1991.

Through the process of working with our actuaries, it has been identified that due to a lack of historical and current information relating to non-residential building claims, a reliable estimate of any potential liability cannot be quantified at this time.

There are various other claims that the Council and Group are currently contesting which have not been quantified due to the nature of the issues, the uncertainty of the outcome and/or the extent to which the Council and Group have a responsibility to the claimant. The possibility of any outflow in settlement in these cases is assessed as remote.

Note 35: Jointly controlled assets

The Council has significant interests in the following joint ventures:

Joint Venture
Interest
2016
Interest
2015
Nature of business

Wastewater treatment plant – Porirua City Council
27.60%
27.60%
Owns and operates a wastewater treatment plant and associated trunk sewers and pumping stations that provide services to Wellington City’s northern suburbs

Spicer Valley Landfill – Porirua City Council
21.50%
21.50%
Owns and operates a sanitary landfill that provides services to Wellington City’s northern suburbs

The end of the reporting period for the joint ventures is 30 June. Included in the financial statements are the following items that represent the Council’s and Group’s interest in the assets and liabilities of the joint ventures.

Relevant significant accounting policies

For a jointly controlled asset the Council has a liability in respect of its share of joint ventures’ operational deficits and liabilities, and shares in any operational surpluses and assets. The Council’s proportionate interest (ie 21.5% of the Spicer Valley landfill) in the assets, liabilities, revenue and expenditure is included in the financial statements of the Council and Group on a line-by-line basis.

Share of Net Assets - Porirua City Council Joint Ventures (PCCJV)
2016
$000
2015
$000

ASSETS

Current

Inventory
42
59

Receivables and recoverables
1,420
1,657

Non-current

Property, plant and equipment
22,249
20,680

Share of total assets
23,711
22,396

LIABILITIES

Non-current

Borrowings
3,929
3,074

Provisions for other liabilities
2,029
1,595

Share of total liabilities
5,958
4,669

SHARE OF NET ASSETS
17,753
17,727

The Council’s and Group’s share of the joint ventures’ current year net surplus and revaluation movements (after elimination) included in the financial statements are shown below.

Share of Net Surplus and Revaluation Movements - PCCJV
2016
$000
2015
$000

Operating revenue
3,016
3,014

Operating expenditure
(2,990)
(2,699)

Share of net surplus or (deficit)
26
315

Share of current year revaluation movement
-
24

The Council’s and Group’s share of the joint ventures’ capital commitments is $Nil (2015: $Nil) and contingent liabilities is $Nil (2015: $Nil).

Note 36: Related party disclosures

Relevant significant accounting policies

Related parties arise where one entity has the ability to affect the financial and operating policies of another through the presence of control or significant influence. Related parties include all members of the Group (controlled entities, associates and joint ventures) and key management personnel.

Key management personnel include the Mayor and Councillors as elected members of the governing body of the Council reporting entity, the Chief Executive and all members of the Executive Leadership Team, being key advisors to the Council and Chief Executive.

Key management personnel

In this section, the Council discloses the remuneration and related party transactions of key management personnel. The remuneration payable to key management personnel of the Group’s other entities is disclosed separately within their individual financial statements and is not included in the following table.

Remuneration paid to key management personnel
Council

2016
$
2015
$

Council Members

Short-term benefits
1,464,085
1,434,782

Chief Executive and Executive Leadership Team

Short-term employee benefits
2,335,591
2,362,735

Post employment benefits
48,109
55,359

Termination benefits
-
-

TOTAL REMUNERATION PAID TO KEY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL
3,847,785
3,852,876

Key management personnel comprise 23 individuals: 15 elected members or 15 fulltime equivalents and 8 executive leaders or 8 fulltime equivalents.

For further disclosure of the remuneration payable to the Mayor, Councillors and the Chief Executive refer to Note 37: Remuneration and staffing (page 229).

Material related party transactions – key management personnel

During the year key management personnel, as part of normal local authority relationships, were involved in transactions with the Council such as payment of rates and purchases of rubbish bags or other Council services.

These transactions were on normal commercial terms. Except for these transactions no key management personnel have entered into related party transactions with the Group.

The Mayor and Councillor’s disclose their personal interests in a register available on the Council Website.

There are no commitments from Council to key management personnel.

Material related party transactions – other organisations

Basin Reserve Trust (BRT)

The Basin Reserve Trust was established on 24 February 2005 to manage, operate and maintain the Basin Reserve. The Trust was jointly created with Cricket Wellington Incorporated (CWI). Wellington City Council and CWI each appoint two of the four trustees. Wellington City Council has significant influence over the Trust through the appointment of trustees, and receives benefits from the complementary activities of the Trust.

The Council considers the Trust does not meet the requirements of PBE IPSAS 7 Investments in Associates to enable continued consolidation on an equity accounted basis. The Trust is still identified as an associate given the Council’s level of influence and financial support but due to the lack of an equity investment the Council believes it is not appropriate to include the Trust in the Group financial statements. During the year ending 30 June 2016 Council contributed $0.368m (2015: $0.368m) to fund the operations of the Trust.

NZ Local Government Funding Agency Limited (LGFA)

The LGFA was incorporated on 1 December 2011 and was established to facilitate the efficient, and cost effective, raising of debt funding for local government authorities. There are currently 30 regional, district and city councils throughout New Zealand that own 80% of the issued capital, with the Government holding the remaining 20%. The Council became an establishment shareholder in this Council Controlled Trading Organisation (CCTO) and currently has an investment of $1.866m representing 8.3% of paid-up capital.

Karori Wildlife Sanctuary Trust (Zealandia)

The Council has influence in the governance, funding and operations of the Karori Wildlife Sanctuary Trust (trading as Zealandia) which is not part of the Group, to the extent that it is considered appropriate to disclose the nature of the transactions as being between related parties. The Council appoints two of the five trustees including the Chair. Operational funding of $0.875m (2015: $0.875m) was made during the year to 30 June 2016.

Wellington Regional Stadium Trust (WRST)

Wellington Regional Stadium Trust was jointly created with GWRC and Wellington City Council has significant influence over the Wellington Regional Stadium Trust through the appointment of trustees and receives benefits from the complementary activities of the Trust.

The Council considers the Trust does not meet the requirements of PBE IPSAS 7 Investments in Associates to enable continued consolidation on an equity accounted basis. The Trust is still identified as an associate given the Council’s level of influence and financial support but due to the lack of an equity investment the Council believes it is not appropriate to include the Trust in the Group financial statements.

Council holds a $15m limited recourse loan to WRST which, is unsecured, with no specified maturity and at no interest. The loan is not repayable until all other debts are extinguished.

On maturity of the initial WRST membership underwrite, the unpaid interest was converted to a $0.395m advance repayable after all other advances made by the Council and GWRC.

During the year ending 30 June 2016 Council transacted directly with WRST to the amount of $0.275m (2015: $0.577m) in support of major events.

Intra group transactions and balances

During the year the Council has entered into transactions with its joint venture partner Porirua City Council. These transactions disclosed are within the normal course of business. The nature of these intra-group transactions and the outstanding balances at the year-end are as follows:

Intra group transactions and balances - Jointly controlled assets
2016
$000
2015
$000

Expenditure incurred by the Council to fund the operation and management of:

Porirua - waste water treatment plant
2,023
1,756

During the year the Council has entered into transactions with its controlled entities. These transactions disclosed are within the normal course of business. The nature of these intra-group transactions and the outstanding balances at the year-end are as follows:

Intra group transactions and balances - Controlled entities
2016
$000
2015
$000

Revenue for services provided by the Council to:

Positively Wellington Tourism
24
530

Positively Wellington Waterfront
-
139

Wellington Cable Car Limited
309
106

Wellington Museums Trust
1,436
1,496

Wellington Regional Economic Development Agency
306
184

Wellington Zoo Trust
841
664

2,916
3,119

Grant funding by Council for the operations and management of:

Positively Wellington Tourism
-
3,253

Wellington Cable Car Limited
1,500
-

Wellington Museums Trust
8,313
8,226

Wellington Regional Economic Development Agency
7,135
3,378

Wellington Zoo Trust
2,894
2,757

19,842
17,614

Expenditure for services provided to the Council by:

Positively Wellington Tourism
-
121

Positively Wellington Waterfront
-
21

Wellington Cable Car Limited
32
134

Wellington Museums Trust
2,476
3,429

Wellington Regional Economic Development Agency
6,013
6,495

Wellington Zoo Trust
2,749
3,022

11,270
13,222

Current receivables and recoverables owing to the Council from:

Positively Wellington Waterfront
-
139

Wellington Cable Car Limited
-
3

Wellington Museums Trust
161
183

Wellington Regional Economic Development Agency
6
3

Wellington Zoo Trust
213
608

380
936

Current payables owed by the Council to:

Wellington Cable Car Limited
419
27

Wellington Museums Trust
171
579

Wellington Regional Economic Development Agency
729
628

Wellington Zoo Trust
196
221

1,515
1,455

Current receivables, recoverables and payables

The receivable, recoverable and payable balances are non-interest bearing and are to be settled with the relevant entities on normal trading terms and conditions.

Payments to controlled entities

The total payments to controlled entities are $31.112m when the grant funding of $19.842m and expenditure for services provided to Council of $11.270m are combined.

During the year the Council has entered into several transactions with its associates and jointly controlled entity. These transactions disclosed are within the normal course of business. The nature of these intra-group transactions and the outstanding balances at the year-end are as follows:

Intra group transactions and balances - Associates and jointly controlled entity
2016
$000
2015
$000

Dividend received from:

Wellington International Airport Limited
12,059
12,950

Revenue for services provided by the Council to:

Wellington Water Limited
-
83

Expenditure for services provided to the Council from:

Wellington International Airport Limited
2,179
72

Wellington Water Limited
22,348
18,046

24,527
18,118

Current receivables and recoverables owing to the Council from:

Wellington Water Limited
-
15

Current payables owed by the Council to:

Wellington International Airport Limited
-
2

Wellington Water Limited
2,078
293

2,078
295

Current receivables, recoverables and payables:

The receivable, recoverable and payable balances are non-interest bearing and are to be settled with the relevant entities on normal trading terms and conditions.

Planned and approved future expenditure to related parties

The Council has included in its 2016/17 Annual Plan the extent of operational funding to its controlled entities and other related parties to be as follows:

Council
2017 Annual Plan
$000

Controlled entities

Wellington Cable Car Limited
1,000

Wellington Museums Trust (including Carter Observatory)
8,487

Wellington Regional Economic Development Agency
11,678

Wellington Zoo Trust
3,044

Total controlled entities
24,209

Other related parties

Basin Reserve Trust
633

Karori Wildlife Sanctuary Trust (Zealandia)
875

Wellington Regional Stadium Trust
5,000

Total other related party commitments
6,508

TOTAL PLANNED AND APPROVED FUTURE EXPENDITURE TO RELATED PARTIES
30,717

Note 37: Remuneration and staffing

Mayoral and Councillor remuneration

Relevant significant accounting policies

Remuneration of elected members comprises any money, consideration or benefit received or receivable or otherwise made available, directly or indirectly, during the reporting period but does not include reimbursement of authorised work expenses or the provision of work-related equipment such as cell phones and laptops.

Remuneration

The following people held office as elected members of the Council’s governing body, during the reporting period. The total remuneration attributed to the Mayor and Councillors during the year from 1 July 2015 to 30 June 2016 was $1,464,085 (2015: $1,434,782) and is broken down and classified as follows:

Council Member
Monetary Remuneration
Non-monetary

Total

Salary
Allowances
Remuneration

$
$
$
$

Ahipene-Mercer, Ray
88,985
360
2,200
91,545

Coughlan, Jo
94,450
-
2,200
96,650

Eagle, Paul
94,450
360
2,200
97,010

Foster, Andy
94,450
360
2,200
97,010

Free, Sarah
85,325
360
2,200
87,885

Lee, David
85,325
360
2,200
87,885

Lester, Justin
105,560
360
2,200
108,120

Marsh, Simon
88,985
360
2,200
91,545

Pannett, Iona
94,450
360
2,200
97,010

Peck, Mark
85,325
360
2,200
87,885

Ritchie, Helene
85,325
360
2,200
87,885

Sparrow, Malcolm
85,325
360
2,200
87,885

Wade-Brown, Celia (Mayor)
167,800
-
2,200
170,000

Woolf, Simon
85,325
360
2,200
87,885

Young, Nicola
85,325
360
2,200
87,885

TOTAL REMUNERATION PAID TO COUNCIL MEMBERS
1,426,405
4,680
33,000
1,464,085

Total monetary remuneration
1,431,085

Total non- monetary remuneration
33,000

Salary

The Remuneration Authority is responsible for setting the remuneration levels for elected members (Clause 6, Schedule 7 of the Local Government Act 2002). The Council’s monetary remuneration (salary) detailed above was determined by the Remuneration Authority. As permitted under the Authority’s guidelines the Council has chosen for its elected members to receive an annual salary for the 2015/16 financial year rather than the alternative option of a combination of meeting fee payments and annual salary.

Taxable and non-taxable allowances – broadband services and mobile phones

Councillors are able to choose either of the following two options:

The payment of a communication allowance of $30 per month; or the reimbursement of any Council related communication costs, over and above any communication costs they would normally incur, payable on receipt of the appropriate documentation required under the provisions of the Remuneration Authority’s determination. Both the allowance and reimbursement options are non-taxable. Only the payments under the allowance option have been included as remuneration in the schedule above.

The level of all allowances payable to the Council’s elected members has been approved by the Remuneration Authority and is reviewed by the Authority on an annual basis. The Remuneration Authority does permit Council to provide the Mayor with a vehicle for full private use, which would be a taxable benefit; however the current Mayor has declined to take up this option.

Non-monetary

In addition, the Mayor and Councillors receive non-monetary remuneration in relation to car parking space provided. The Councillors have shared office and working space available for use, and access to phones and computers. Professional indemnity and trustee liability insurance is also provided to Councillors against any potential legal litigation which may occur while undertaking Council business.

Community Boards

The Council has two community boards – the Tawa Community Board and the Makara/Ohariu Community Board. Remuneration paid to the elected members of these boards is as follows:

Community Board Member
Salary
$

Allowances
$

Other
$

Total
2016
$

TAWA COMMUNITY BOARD

Tredger, Robert (Chair)
17,600
540
-
18,140

Lucas, Margaret (Deputy Chair)
8,800
-
-
8,800

Hansen, Graeme
8,800
-
-
8,800

Herbert, Richard
8,800
-
-
8,800

Lester, Justin (see Councillor remuneration above)
-
-
-
-

Marshall, Jack (includes Youth Council attendance fee)
8,800
-
660
9,460

Sutton, Alistair
8,800
-
-
8,800

Sparrow, Malcolm (see Councillor remuneration above)
-
-
-
-

MAKARA-OHARIU COMMUNITY BOARD

Grace, Christine (Chair)
9,000
540
-
9,540

Burden, Murray
4,500
-
-
4,500

Liddell, Judy
4,500
-
-
4,500

Rudd, Wayne
4,500
-
-
4,500

Scotts, Margie
4,500
-
-
4,500

Todd, Hamish
4,500
-
-
4,500

TOTAL REMUNERATION TO COMMUNITY BOARD MEMBERS
93,100
1,080
660
94,840

A technology allowance of $45 per month is available to the chair of both the Tawa and Makara/Ohariu Community Boards. This allowance can be taken as either an allowance or as an actual expense reimbursement. Both options are non-taxable but only payments under the allowance option are included in the above remuneration table.

Malcolm Sparrow was the previous Chair of the Tawa Community Board, before his election to the Council.

Chief Executive’s remuneration

The Chief Executive of the Council was appointed in accordance with section 42 of the Local Government Act 2002.

The table below shows the total remuneration of the Chief Executive paid or payable for the year ended 30 June 2016.

Under the terms of his agreement, the Chief Executive of the Council chooses how he wishes to take his remuneration package (salary only or a combination of salary and benefits).

Remuneration of the Chief Executive
Council

2016
$
2015
$

Short-term employee benefits

Salary
413,160
405,000

Motor vehicle park
3,000
3,000

TOTAL REMUNERATION OF THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE
416,160
408,000

Severances

In accordance with Schedule 10, section 33 of the Local Government Act 2002, the Council is required to disclose the number of employees who received severance payments during the year and the amount of each severance payment made.

Severance payments include any consideration (monetary and non-monetary) provided to any employee in respect of the employee’s agreement to the termination of their employment with the Council. Severance payments exclude any final payment of salary, holiday pay and superannuation contributions.

For the year ending 30 June 2016 the Council made severance payments to 18 employees totalling $226,458 (2015: 13 employees, $227,468).

The individual values of each of these severance payments are: $890; $998; $2,294; $3,100; $4,500; $4,589; $5,941; $6,521; $6,902; $8,000; $11,185; $13,962; $20,000; $23,000; $25,000, $28,000; $29,576; $32,000.

Employee numbers and remuneration bands

The following table identifies the number of full time employees as at the end of the reporting period and the full time equivalent number of all other part-time, fixed term and casual employees. The table further identifies the breakdown of remuneration levels of those employees into various bands.

| Council
| 2016 | 2015
Full-time and full-time equivalent employee numbers |  |
Full-time employees (based on a 40 hour week) as at 30 June | 1,059 | 1,020
Full-time equivalents for all other non full-time employees | 237 | 244
Remuneration bands |  |
The number of employees receiving total annual remuneration of less than $60,000 | 1105 | 1,084
The number of employees receiving total annual remuneration of more than $60,000 in bands of $20,000 |  |
$60,000 - $79,999.99 | 274 | 277
$80,000 - $99,999.99 | 178 | 152
$100,000 - $119,999.99 | 78 | 84
$120,000 - $139,999.99 | 43 | 53
$140,000 - $159,999.99 | 35 | 20
$160,000 - $179,999.99 | 13 | 13
$180,000 - $199,999.99 |  | 6
$180,000 - $219,999.99* | 10 |
$200,000 - $239,999.99* |  | 6
$220,000 - $299,999.99* | 7 |
$240,000 - $319,999.99* |  | 8
$300,000 - $419,999.99* | 5 |
$320,000 - $419,999.99* |  | 2
TOTAL EMPLOYEES | 1,748 | 1,705

Of the 1,748 (2014: 1,705) individual employees 685 (2015: 685) work part-time or casually.

Total annual remuneration has been calculated to include any non-financial benefits and other payments in excess of normal remuneration such as the employer KiwiSaver contribution.

*If the number of employees for any band was 5 or less then we are legally required to combine it with the next highest band. This means that some rows span different bands across the two years shown.

Council has resolved that in addition to legislative requirements to disclose the above bandings it has also included the 2 lowest remuneration grades.

Grade | Salary Range | 2016 | 2015
B1 | $32,620 - $44,493 | 152 | 176
B2 | $32,954 - $52,045 | 627 | 559

The current living wage rate for WCC is $18.55. Each year the living wage rate for WCC is reviewed in accordance with the CPI rate for salary and wages.

As at 30 June 2016, 77 council staff (excluding apprentices) were being paid under $18.55 per hour. This reflects the number of trainees we have, who are presently working through a competency based training programme. The intention is that all staff should achieve $18.55 within a 6 - 12 month period. Whilst the entry point for B2 is $18.55 (excluding those on training rates) the average for B2 is $19.84.

Note 38: Events after the end of the reporting period

There are no events after the end of the reporting period that require adjustment to the financial statements or the notes to the financial statements.

Other Significant Accounting Policies

The following accounting policies are additional to the disclosures and accounting policies that are included within the relevant specific Notes forming part of the financial statements.

Basis of preparation

Measurement base

The measurement basis applied is historical cost, modified by the revaluation of certain assets and liabilities as identified in the accounting policies. The accrual basis of accounting has been used unless otherwise stated.

For the assets and liabilities recorded at fair value, fair value is defined as the amount for which an item could be exchanged, or a liability settled, between knowledgeable and willing parties in an arm’s-length transaction. For investment property, non-current assets classified as held for sale and items of property, plant and equipment which are revalued, the fair value is determined by reference to market value. The market value of a property is the estimated amount for which a property could be exchanged on the date of valuation between a willing buyer and a willing seller in an arm’s-length transaction.

Amounts expected to be recovered or settled more than one year after the end of the reporting period are recognised at their present value. The present value of the estimated future cash flows is calculated using applicable inflation factors and a discount rate.

The financial statements are presented in New Zealand dollars, rounded to the nearest thousand ($000), unless otherwise stated.

The accounting policies set out below have been applied consistently to all periods presented in these consolidated financial statements.

Exchange and non-exchange transactions

Revenue from exchange transactions

Revenue from exchange transactions arises where the Council provides goods or services to another entity or individual and directly receives approximately equal value in a willing arm’s-length transaction (primarily in the form of cash in exchange).

Revenue from non-exchange transactions

Revenue from non-exchange transactions arises from transactions that are not exchange transactions. Revenue from a non-exchange transaction arises when the Council receives value from another party without giving approximately equal value directly in exchange for the value received.

An inflow of resources from a non-exchange transaction recognised as an asset, is recognised as revenue, except to the extent that a liability is also recognised in respect of the same inflow.

As Council satisfies a present obligation recognised as a liability in respect of an inflow of resources from a non-exchange transaction recognised as an asset, it reduces the carrying amount of the liability recognised and recognises an amount of revenue equal to that reduction.

Approximately equal value

Approximately equal value is considered to reflect a fair or market value, which is normally considered as an arm’s-length commercial transaction between a willing buyer and willing seller. Some goods or services that Council provides (eg the sale of goods at market rates) are defined as being exchange transactions. Only a few services provided by Council operate on a full user pays (eg Parking), cost recovery or breakeven basis and these are considered to be exchange transactions unless they are provided at less than active and open market prices.

Most of the services that Council provides for a fee, are subsidised by rates (eg. The cost to swim in a Council pool) and therefore do not constitute an approximately equal exchange. Accordingly most of Council’s revenue is categorised as non-exchange.

Change of accounting policies

There have been no elected changes in accounting policies during the financial period. The first time adoption of the new suite of PBE accounting standards after having previously applied NZ IFRS PBE does not constitute a change in accounting policies.

Change to accounting standards

For the year ending 30 June 2015, the new suite of Public Sector Public Benefit Entity accounting standards was adopted for the first time. From 1 July 2015 a revised suite that included enhanced guidance for Not-for-Profit Public Benefit entities was adopted. The adoption of these revised standards has not had any significant impact on the Group.

Standards, amendments and interpretations issued but not yet effective and early adopted

Standards, amendments and interpretations issued but not yet effective until years ending 31 December 2016 that have been early adopted and which are relevant to the Group are:

2015 Omnibus Amendments to PBE Standards - This standard amends a number of individual PBE Standards to align the PBE Standards with NZ IFRS and IPSAS as a consequence of IASB and IPSASB’s annual improvement amendments. There is no obvious difference in these financial statements as a result of early adoption.

Disclosure Initiative (amendments to PBE IPSAS 1) – This standard sets out amendments to PBE IPSAS 1 Presentation of Financial Statements and consequential amendments to PBE IPSAS 30 Financial Instruments: Disclosures and PBE IAS 34 Interim Financial Reporting.

The amendments clarify existing PBE IPSAS 1 requirements that relate to materiality; the order of the notes; subtotals; accounting policies and disaggregation. The obvious differences in these financial statements as a result of early adoption are firstly, a re-ordered set out of financial statements, notes and accounting policies and secondly a number of smaller notes or tables have been left out on the basis of materiality.

Judgements and estimations

The preparation of financial statements using PBE accounting standards requires the use of judgements, estimates and assumptions. Where material, information on the main assumptions is provided in the relevant accounting policy or in the relevant note.

The estimates and assumptions are based on historical experience as well as other factors that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances. Subsequent actual results may differ from these estimates.

The estimates and assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis and adjustments are made where necessary.

Judgements that have a significant effect on the financial statements and estimates with a significant risk of material adjustment in the next year are discussed in the relevant notes. Significant judgements and estimations include landfill post-closure costs, asset revaluations, impairments, certain fair value calculations and provisions.

Goods and Services Tax (GST)

All items in the financial statements are exclusive of GST, with the exception of receivables, recoverables and payables, which are stated as GST inclusive. Where GST is not recoverable as an input tax, it is recognised as part of the related asset or expense.

Budget figures

The Annual Plan budget figures included in these financial statements are for the Council as a separate entity. The Annual Plan figures do not include budget information relating to controlled entities or associates. These figures are those approved by the Council at the beginning of each financial year following a period of consultation with the public as part of the Annual Plan process. These figures do not include any additional expenditure subsequently approved by the Council outside the Annual Plan process. The Annual Plan figures have been prepared in accordance with GAAP and are consistent with the accounting policies adopted by the Council for the preparation of these financial statements.

Comparatives

To ensure consistency with the current year, certain comparative information has been reclassified where appropriate. This has occurred:

Where classifications have changed between periods

Where the Council has made additional disclosure in the current year, and where a greater degree of disaggregation of prior year amounts and balances is therefore required

Where there has been a change of accounting policy (There has been no change in the 2015/16 year)

Financial Prudence

The government has introduced the Local Government (Financial Reporting and Prudence) Regulations 2014 which has a series of measures and benchmarks, disclosed in the following pages.

Readers are urged to read the commentary and explanations provided to give context to the information, as it is not always possible to compare Wellington City Councils’ results with other councils due to their size, location and provision of services.

During the 2015–25 LTP process and with consultation with ratepayers, the Council revised the number of benchmarks and removed measures that were similar in nature and added no value in understanding of the measures to readers.

Annual report disclosure statement for year ending 30 June 2016

What is the purpose of this statement?

The purpose of this statement is to disclose the council’s financial performance in relation to various benchmarks to enable the assessment of whether the council is prudently managing its revenues, expenses, assets, liabilities, and general financial dealings.

The council is required to include this statement in its annual report in accordance with the Local Government (Financial Reporting and Prudence) Regulations 2014 (the regulations). Refer to the regulations for more information, including definitions of some of the terms used in this statement.

Unless prescribed by the regulations the quantified limit for each benchmark is calculated using the financial information from the Council’s 2015–25 LTP.

Rates affordability benchmark

The council meets the rates affordability benchmark if—

Its actual rates revenue equals or is less than each quantified limit on rates; and

Its actual rates increases equal or are less than each quantified limit on rates increases

Rates (revenue) affordability

The following graph compares the council’s actual rates increases with a quantified dollar limit on rates increases included in the financial strategy included in the council’s LTP.

The quantified limit for 2015/16 is $301,552,000.

NOTE: the qualified limit was set at $301,552,000 for the first 3 years of the 2015-25 LTP on the basis that this would equate to an average annual rates increase of 4.9% (after growth) over this 3-year period.

Rates (increases) affordability

The following graph compares the council’s actual rates increases with a quantified limit on rates increases included in the financial strategy in the council’s LTP. The quantified limit for 2015/16 is 6.10% before growth and 4.9% after growth.

Actual rates revenue was 0.7% higher than budget due to more water being consumed by the commercial sector than budgeted resulting in higher actual water rates by meter revenue. If water rates by meter revenue was excluded the actual rates increase would be in line with budget.

Debt affordability benchmark

The council meets the debt affordability benchmark if its actual borrowing is within each quantified limit on borrowing. The Council has seven measures for debt affordability and these are set out below. The suitability of these measures has been assessed by Council’s professional advisers, PwC Wellington.

Net borrowing as a percentage of revenue30

The following graph compares the council’s actual borrowing with a quantified limit on borrowing stated in the financial strategy included in the council’s LTP.

The quantified limit is net borrowings, comprised of borrowings less cash and cash equivalents, being less than or equal to 175% of revenue. For this measure revenue is defined as total revenue less vested assets and development contribution revenue.

Net interest as a percentage of revenue

The following graph compares the council’s actual borrowing with a quantified limit on borrowing stated in the financial strategy included in the council’s LTP.

The quantified limit is net interest, defined as interest expense less interest revenue, being less than or equal to 15% of revenue. For this measure revenue is defined as total revenue less vested assets and development contribution revenue.

Net interest as a percentage of annual rates revenue

The following graph compares the council’s actual borrowing with a quantified limit on borrowing stated in the financial strategy included in the council’s LTP.

The quantified limit is net interest, defined as interest expense less interest revenue, being less than or equal to 20% of annual rates revenue.

Liquidity (term borrowing + committed loan facilities to existing external net debt)

The following graph compares the council’s actual borrowing with a quantified limit on borrowing stated in the financial strategy included in the council’s LTP.

The quantified limit is liquidity being greater than or equal to 115%. For debt affordability, liquidity is the total of Councils existing external net debt. Net borrowings for debt affordability are defined as borrowings less cash and cash equivalents.

NOTE: this measure is new for 2015/16.

Balanced budget benchmark

The following graph displays the council’s revenue (excluding development contributions, financial contributions, vested assets, gains on derivative financial instruments, and revaluations of property, plant, or equipment) as a proportion of operating expenses (excluding losses on derivative financial instruments and revaluations of property, plant, or equipment). The council meets this benchmark if its revenue equals or is greater than its operating expenses.

Essential services benchmark

The following graph displays the council’s capital expenditure on network services as a proportion of depreciation on network services. The council meets this benchmark if its capital expenditure on network services equals or is greater than depreciation on network services. Although for 2013/14 it appears to show that the Council has “not met” the benchmark, included within the depreciation figure, there is a depreciation amount for Moa Point Treatment Plant which is under an arrangement where the assets are managed by a third party who will return the assets to the Council in the same condition that they were at the start of the arrangement. Therefore there will be no capital expenditure undertaken by Council in relation to those assets. If the depreciation attributable to those assets were excluded from the calculation, then the benchmark measure would show that the Council had “met” the target by achieving 104% for 2013/14.

Debt servicing benchmark

The following graph displays the council’s borrowing costs as a proportion of revenue (excluding development contributions, financial contributions, vested assets, gains on derivative financial instruments, and revaluations of property, plant, or equipment).

Because Statistics New Zealand projects the council’s population will grow as fast as the national population growth rate, it meets the debt servicing benchmark if its borrowing costs equal or are less than 10% of its revenue.

Debt control benchmark

The following graph displays the council’s actual net debt as a proportion of planned net debt. In this statement, net debt means financial liabilities less financial assets (excluding trade and other receivables).

The council meets the debt control benchmark if its actual net debt equals or is less than its planned net debt.

The calculation of net debt includes derivative (non-cash) financial instruments, predominantly cash flow hedges. The 2015/16 net debt was impacted by the valuation of the Council’s cash flow hedge liabilities being higher than planned as a result of interest rate volatility during the financial year. Actual net borrowings at $396.5m were lower than planned net borrowings of $415.0m and well below other benchmarks.

Operations control benchmark

This graph displays the council’s actual net cash flow from operations as a proportion of its planned net cash flow from operations.

The council meets the operations control benchmark if its actual net cash flow from operations equals or is greater than its planned net cash flow from operations.

A number of assumptions are made around the timing of events. Any departure from these assumptions can affect the outcome of this measure.

The Council is satisfied that it is prudently managing operational cash flow, with variances in the 2011/12, 2012/13 and 2014/15 years explained by the timing difference in the receipt of revenues compared to budget that lead to the “not met” outcome for this measure.

30 The revenue figure used for this calculation of Net Borrowing as percentage of Revenue and Net Interest as a percentage of Revenue is Total Revenue less Vested Assets and Development Contribution Revenue. The Council has also deducted variable capital grants it receives for social housing from these calculations.

Funding Impact Statements

Funding impact statement - 1 July 2015 to 30 June 2016
Whole of Council

2014/15
AP
$000
2014/15
Actual
$000
2015/16
LTP
$000
2015/16
Actual
$000

Sources of operating funding

General rates, uniform annual general charges, rates penalties
134,936
135,486
152,004
152,200

Targeted rates
106,451
106,645
118,903
119,927

Subsidies and grants for operating purposes
7,714
8,020
6,485
7,117

Fees and charges
134,566
121,196
122,218
113,117

Interest and dividends from investments
11,044
15,840
11,013
15,288

Local authorities fuel tax, fines, infringement fees, and other receipts
9,541
7,696
9,255
8,064

Total operating funding (A)
404,252
394,883
419,878
415,713

Applications of operating funding

Payments to staff and suppliers
269,637
259,690
280,484
261,895

Finance costs
23,041
22,973
22,961
23,948

Other operating funding applications
28,958
30,793
35,850
53,129

Total applications of operating funding (B)
321,636
313,456
339,295
338,972

Surplus (deficit) of operating funding (A - B)
82,616
81,427
80,583
76,741

Sources of capital funding

Subsidies and grants for capital expenditure
43,375
33,544
36,026
27,044

Development and financial contributions
2,000
2,077
2,000
2,749

Increase (decrease) in debt
34,964
22,321
41,399
49,604

Gross proceeds from sales of assets
4,050
323
2,650
-

Lump sum contributions
-
-
-
-

Total sources of capital funding (C)
84,389
58,264
82,075
79,397

Applications of capital funding

Capital expenditure

- to meet additional demand
2,558
5,365
2,597
1,076

- to improve the level of service
69,965
56,360
62,680
42,704

- to replace existing assets
79,480
84,752
93,169
102,157

Increase (decrease) in reserves
15,002
(6,786)
4,212
10,201

Increase (decrease) in investments
-
-

-

Total applications of capital funding (D)
167,005
139,691
162,658
156,138

Surplus (deficit) of capital funding (C - D)
(82,616)
(81,427)
(80,583)
(76,741)

Funding balance ((A - B) + (C - D))
-
-
-
-

Expenses for this activity grouping include the following depreciation/amortisation charge
102,165
98,262
99,797
98,356

Funding impact statement - 1 July 2015 to 30 June 2016 For:
Governance, information and engagement

1.1
2014/15
AP
$000
2014/15
Actual
$000
2015/16
LTP
$000
2015/16
Actual
$000

Sources of operating funding

General rates, uniform annual general charges, rates penalties
14,214
14,214
16,587
16,587

Targeted rates
-
-
-
-

Subsidies and grants for operating purposes
-
-
-
-

Fees and charges
565
654
508
750

Internal charges and overheads recovered
-
494
-
605

Local authorities fuel tax, fines, infringement fees, and other receipts
-
-
-
-

Total operating funding (A)
14,779
15,362
17,095
17,942

Applications of operating funding

Payments to staff and suppliers
7,820
8,558
9,713
9,353

Finance costs
15
13
16
15

Internal charges and overheads applied
6,570
7,322
7,308
7,140

Other operating funding applications
313
277
10
12

Total applications of operating funding (B)
14,718
16,170
17,047
16,520

Surplus (deficit) of operating funding (A - B)
61
(808)
48
1,422

Sources of capital funding

Subsidies and grants for capital expenditure
-
-
-
-

Development and financial contributions
-
-
-
-

Increase (decrease) in debt
(61)
(63)
(48)
(58)

Gross proceeds from sales of assets
-
-
-
-

Lump sum contributions
-
-
-
-

Total sources of capital funding (C)
(61)
(63)
(48)
(58)

Applications of capital funding

Capital expenditure

- to meet additional demand
-
-
-
-

- to improve the level of service
-
-
-
-

- to replace existing assets
-
-
-
-

Increase (decrease) in reserves
-
(871)
-
1,364

Increase (decrease) in investments
-
-
-
-

Total applications of capital funding (D)
-
(871)
-
1,364

Surplus (deficit) of capital funding (C - D)
(61)
808
(48)
(1,422)

Funding balance ((A - B) + (C - D))
-
-
-
-

Expenses for this activity grouping include the following depreciation/amortisation charge
61
63
48
58

Funding impact statement - 1 July 2015 to 30 June 2016 For:
Māori and Mana Whenua partnerships

1.2
2014/15
AP
$000
2014/15
Actual
$000
2015/16
LTP
$000
2015/16
Actual
$000

Sources of operating funding

General rates, uniform annual general charges, rates penalties
225
225
281
281

Targeted rates
-
-
-
-

Subsidies and grants for operating purposes
-
-
-
-

Fees and charges
-
10
-
-

Internal charges and overheads recovered
-
-
-
-

Local authorities fuel tax, fines, infringement fees, and other receipts
-
-
-
-

Total operating funding (A)
225
235
281
281

Applications of operating funding

Payments to staff and suppliers
214
197
267
255

Finance costs
1
1
1
1

Internal charges and overheads applied
8
2
11
8

Other operating funding applications
-
-
-
8

Total applications of operating funding (B)
223
200
279
272

Surplus (deficit) of operating funding (A - B)
2
35
2
9

Sources of capital funding

Subsidies and grants for capital expenditure
-
-
-
-

Development and financial contributions
-
-
-
-

Increase (decrease) in debt
-
(2)
(2)
(2)

Gross proceeds from sales of assets
-
-
-
-

Lump sum contributions
-
-
-
-

Total sources of capital funding (C)
-
(2)
(2)
(2)

Applications of capital funding

Capital expenditure

- to meet additional demand
-
-
-
-

- to improve the level of service
-
-
-
-

- to replace existing assets
-
-
-
-

Increase (decrease) in reserves
2
33
-
7

Increase (decrease) in investments
-
-
-
-

Total applications of capital funding (D)
2
33
-
7

Surplus (deficit) of capital funding (C - D)
(2)
(35)
(2)
(9)

Funding balance ((A - B) + (C - D))
-
-
-
-

Expenses for this activity grouping include the following depreciation/amortisation charge
2
2
2
2

Funding impact statement - 1 July 2015 to 30 June 2016 For:
Gardens, beaches and green open spaces

2.1
2014/15
AP
$000
2014/15
Actual
$000
2015/16
LTP
$000
2015/16
Actual
$000

Sources of operating funding

General rates, uniform annual general charges, rates penalties
27,267
27,267
30,360
30,360

Targeted rates
632
632
-
-

Subsidies and grants for operating purposes
671
688
699
669

Fees and charges
1,314
1,887
1,437
1,899

Internal charges and overheads recovered
5,101
5,130
5,111
5,146

Local authorities fuel tax, fines, infringement fees, and other receipts
-
-

-

Total operating funding (A)
34,985
35,604
37,607
38,074

Applications of operating funding

Payments to staff and suppliers
17,767
19,950
19,285
18,839

Finance costs
1,834
2,411
1,993
1,794

Internal charges and overheads applied
11,520
11,923
12,281
12,067

Other operating funding applications
100
105
120
121

Total applications of operating funding (B)
31,221
34,389
33,679
32,821

Surplus (deficit) of operating funding (A - B)
3,764
1,215
3,928
5,253

Sources of capital funding

Subsidies and grants for capital expenditure
620
333
650
568

Development and financial contributions
183
353
183
363

Increase (decrease) in debt
411
(613)
(2,129)
(5,089)

Gross proceeds from sales of assets
-
-
-
-

Lump sum contributions
-
-
-
-

Total sources of capital funding (C)
1,214
73
(1,296)
(4,158)

Applications of capital funding

Capital expenditure

- to meet additional demand
34
63
70
-

- to improve the level of service
1,180
535
1,121
1,137

- to replace existing assets
1,791
2,541
1,441
1,639

Increase (decrease) in reserves
1,973
(1,851)
-
(1,681)

Increase (decrease) in investments
-
-
-
-

Total applications of capital funding (D)
4,978
1,288
2,632
1,095

Surplus (deficit) of capital funding (C - D)
(3,764)
(1,215)
(3,928)
(5,253)

Funding balance ((A - B) + (C - D))
-
-
-
-

Expenses for this activity grouping include the following depreciation/amortisation charge
4,042
8,197
3,928
6,934

Funding impact statement - 1 July 2015 to 30 June 2016 For:
Waste reduction and energy conservation

2.2
2014/15
AP
$000
2014/15
Actual
$000
2015/16
LTP
$000
2015/16
Actual
$000

Sources of operating funding

General rates, uniform annual general charges, rates penalties
404
404
764
764

Targeted rates
-
-
-
-

Subsidies and grants for operating purposes
-
-
-
-

Fees and charges
12,926
13,307
12,876
14,387

Internal charges and overheads recovered
-
-
-
-

Local authorities fuel tax, fines, infringement fees, and other receipts
-
1
-
4

Total operating funding (A)
13,330
13,712
13,640
15,155

Applications of operating funding

Payments to staff and suppliers
11,873
11,719
12,126
12,368

Finance costs
1,005
960
877
915

Internal charges and overheads applied
(112)
(29)
56
(36)

Other operating funding applications
5
(1)
255
93

Total applications of operating funding (B)
12,771
12,649
13,314
13,340

Surplus (deficit) of operating funding (A - B)
559
1,063
326
1,815

Sources of capital funding

Subsidies and grants for capital expenditure
-
-
-
-

Development and financial contributions
-
-
-
-

Increase (decrease) in debt
67
(227)
912
402

Gross proceeds from sales of assets
-
-
-
-

Lump sum contributions
-
-
-
-

Total sources of capital funding (C)
67
(227)
912
402

Applications of capital funding

Capital expenditure

- to meet additional demand
-
-
-
-

- to improve the level of service
67
67
-
-

- to replace existing assets
709
713
1,238
723

Increase (decrease) in reserves
(150)
56
-
1,494

Increase (decrease) in investments
-
-
-
-

Total applications of capital funding (D)
626
836
1,238
2,217

Surplus (deficit) of capital funding (C - D)
(559)
(1,063)
(326)
(1,815)

Funding balance ((A - B) + (C - D))
-
-
-
-

Expenses for this activity grouping include the following depreciation/amortisation charge
435
363
326
321

Funding impact statement - 1 July 2015 to 30 June 2016 For:
Water

2.3
2014/15
AP
$000
2014/15
Actual
$000
2015/16
LTP
$000
2015/16
Actual
$000

Sources of operating funding

General rates, uniform annual general charges, rates penalties
-
-
-
-

Targeted rates
25,408
26,605
38,291
38,291

Subsidies and grants for operating purposes
-
-
-
-

Fees and charges
13,912
12,764
35
68

Internal charges and overheads recovered
-
-
-
-

Local authorities fuel tax, fines, infringement fees, and other receipts
-
-
-
-

Total operating funding (A)
39,320
39,369
38,326
38,359

Applications of operating funding

Payments to staff and suppliers
21,547
21,444
22,501
22,517

Finance costs
2,104
1,697
2,100
2,052

Internal charges and overheads applied
1,522
1,885
1,443
1,618

Other operating funding applications
-
-
-
-

Total applications of operating funding (B)
25,173
25,026
26,044
26,187

Surplus (deficit) of operating funding (A - B)
14,147
14,343
12,282
12,172

Sources of capital funding

Subsidies and grants for capital expenditure
-
-
-
-

Development and financial contributions
671
341
671
591

Increase (decrease) in debt
2,520
1,426
3,999
2,091

Gross proceeds from sales of assets
-
-
-
-

Lump sum contributions
-
-
-
-

Total sources of capital funding (C)
3,191
1,767
4,670
2,682

Applications of capital funding

Capital expenditure

- to meet additional demand
358
443
563
570

- to improve the level of service
2,833
2,761
3,038
2,356

- to replace existing assets
9,104
10,061
13,351
12,000

Increase (decrease) in reserves
5,043
2,845
-
(72)

Increase (decrease) in investments
-
-
-
-

Total applications of capital funding (D)
17,338
16,110
16,952
14,854

Surplus (deficit) of capital funding (C - D)
(14,147)
(14,343)
(12,282)
(12,172)

Funding balance ((A - B) + (C - D))
-
-
-
-

Expenses for this activity grouping include the following depreciation/amortisation charge
14,739
12,090
12,282
12,244

Funding impact statement - 1 July 2015 to 30 June 2016 for:
Wastewater

2.4
2014/15
AP
$000
2014/15
Actual
$000
2015/16
LTP
$000
2015/16
Actual
$000

Sources of operating funding

General rates, uniform annual general charges, rates penalties
-
-
-
-

Targeted rates
36,257
36,257
37,425
37,425

Subsidies and grants for operating purposes
-
-
-
-

Fees and charges
1,227
1,229
1,233
1,204

Internal charges and overheads recovered
-
14
-
-

Local authorities fuel tax, fines, infringement fees, and other receipts
-
-
-
-

Total operating funding (A)
37,484
37,500
38,658
38,629

Applications of operating funding

Payments to staff and suppliers
21,070
18,971
21,117
18,676

Finance costs
3,577
3,489
3,741
3,635

Internal charges and overheads applied
3,541
3,835
3,525
4,585

Other operating funding applications
-
-
-
-

Total applications of operating funding (B)
28,188
26,295
28,383
26,896

Surplus (deficit) of operating funding (A - B)
9,296
11,205
10,275
11,733

Sources of capital funding

Subsidies and grants for capital expenditure
-
-
-
-

Development and financial contributions
549
425
549
688

Increase (decrease) in debt
(377)
(1,805)
(343)
(250)

Gross proceeds from sales of assets
-
-
-
-

Lump sum contributions
-
-
-
-

Total sources of capital funding (C)
172
(1,380)
206
438

Applications of capital funding

Capital expenditure

- to meet additional demand
172
177
223
221

- to improve the level of service
-
-
-
-

- to replace existing assets
7,573
7,782
10,258
10,634

Increase (decrease) in reserves
1,723
1,866
-
1,316

Increase (decrease) in investments
-
-
-
-

Total applications of capital funding (D)
9,468
9,825
10,481
12,171

Surplus (deficit) of capital funding (C - D)
(9,296)
(11,205)
(10,275)
(11,733)

Funding balance ((A - B) + (C - D))
-
-
-
-

Expenses for this activity grouping include the following depreciation/amortisation charge
13,416
13,459
13,428
13,570

Funding impact statement - 1 July 2015 to 30 June 2016 For:
Stormwater

2.5
2014/15
AP
$000
2014/15
Actual
$000
2015/16
LTP
$000
2015/16
Actual
$000

Sources of operating funding

General rates, uniform annual general charges, rates penalties
-
-
-
-

Targeted rates
18,648
18,648
17,442
17,442

Subsidies and grants for operating purposes
120
56
136
69

Fees and charges
9
47
10
26

Internal charges and overheads recovered
-
-
-
-

Local authorities fuel tax, fines, infringement fees, and other receipts
-
-
-
-

Total operating funding (A)
18,777
18,751
17,588
17,537

Applications of operating funding

Payments to staff and suppliers
7,432
6,590
7,131
6,603

Finance costs
2,875
2,316
2,904
2,712

Internal charges and overheads applied
1,473
1,555
1,501
1,487

Other operating funding applications
-
-
-
-

Total applications of operating funding (B)
11,780
10,461
11,536
10,802

Surplus (deficit) of operating funding (A - B)
6,997
8,290
6,052
6,735

Sources of capital funding

Subsidies and grants for capital expenditure
-
-
-
-

Development and financial contributions
58
(12)
58
68

Increase (decrease) in debt
499
(1,233)
(1,654)
(1,335)

Gross proceeds from sales of assets
-
-
-
-

Lump sum contributions
-
-
-
-

Total sources of capital funding (C)
557
(1,245)
(1,596)
(1,267)

Applications of capital funding

Capital expenditure

- to meet additional demand
106
188
161
202

- to improve the level of service
451
797
1,501
1,716

- to replace existing assets
3,697
3,836
2,794
2,949

Increase (decrease) in reserves
3,300
2,224
-
601

Increase (decrease) in investments
-
-
-
-

Total applications of capital funding (D)
7,554
7,045
4,456
5,468

Surplus (deficit) of capital funding (C - D)
(6,997)
(8,290)
(6,052)
(6,735)

Funding balance ((A - B) + (C - D))
-
-
-
-

Expenses for this activity grouping include the following depreciation/amortisation charge
6,997
6,066
6,052
6,134

Funding impact statement - 1 July 2015 to 30 June 2016 For:
Conservation attractions

2.6
2014/15
AP
$000
2014/15
Actual
$000
2015/16
LTP
$000
2015/16
Actual
$000

Sources of operating funding

General rates, uniform annual general charges, rates penalties
6,126
6,126
6,459
6,459

Targeted rates
-
-
-
-

Subsidies and grants for operating purposes
-
-
-
-

Fees and charges
-
-
-
-

Internal charges and overheads recovered
-
-
-
-

Local authorities fuel tax, fines, infringement fees, and other receipts
-
-
-
-

Total operating funding (A)
6,126
6,126
6,459
6,459

Applications of operating funding

Payments to staff and suppliers
138
126
214
119

Finance costs
755
691
748
694

Internal charges and overheads applied
264
264
286
284

Other operating funding applications
3,632
3,632
3,689
3,769

Total applications of operating funding (B)
4,789
4,713
4,937
4,866

Surplus (deficit) of operating funding (A - B)
1,337
1,413
1,522
1,593

Sources of capital funding

Subsidies and grants for capital expenditure
129
802
126
-

Development and financial contributions
-
-
-
-

Increase (decrease) in debt
387
483
(332)
1,207

Gross proceeds from sales of assets
-
-
-
-

Lump sum contributions
-
-
-
-

Total sources of capital funding (C)
516
1,285
(206)
1,207

Applications of capital funding

Capital expenditure

- to meet additional demand
-
-
-
-

- to improve the level of service
516
2,398
516
1,859

- to replace existing assets
278
278
800
866

Increase (decrease) in reserves
1,059
22
-
75

Increase (decrease) in investments
-
-
-
-

Total applications of capital funding (D)
1,853
2,698
1,316
2,800

Surplus (deficit) of capital funding (C - D)
(1,337)
(1,413)
(1,522)
(1,593)

Funding balance ((A - B) + (C - D))
-
-
-
-

Expenses for this activity grouping include the following depreciation/amortisation charge
1,337
1,391
1,522
1,518

Funding impact statement - 1 July 2015 to 30 June 2016 For:
City promotions and business support

3.1
2014/15
AP
$000
2014/15
Actual
$000
2015/16
LTP
$000
2015/16
Actual
$000

Sources of operating funding

General rates, uniform annual general charges, rates penalties
5,207
5,207
4,610
4,610

Targeted rates
15,012
15,012
15,226
15,226

Subsidies and grants for operating purposes
-
255
-
-

Fees and charges
14,035
668
14,365
762

Internal charges and overheads recovered
-
-
-
-

Local authorities fuel tax, fines, infringement fees, and other receipts
-
-
-
-

Total operating funding (A)
34,254
21,142
34,201
20,598

Applications of operating funding

Payments to staff and suppliers
26,079
11,610
21,483
7,357

Finance costs
710
679
736
682

Internal charges and overheads applied
1,848
1,026
939
603

Other operating funding applications
7,553
8,270
12,248
14,122

Total applications of operating funding (B)
36,190
21,585
35,406
22,764

Surplus (deficit) of operating funding (A - B)
(1,936)
(443)
(1,205)
(2,166)

Sources of capital funding

Subsidies and grants for capital expenditure
-
-
-
-

Development and financial contributions
-
-
-
-

Increase (decrease) in debt
-
1,165
3,420
(87)

Gross proceeds from sales of assets
-
-
-
-

Lump sum contributions
-
-
-
-

Total sources of capital funding (C)
-
1,165
3,420
(87)

Applications of capital funding

Capital expenditure

- to meet additional demand
-
-
-
-

- to improve the level of service
-
-
-
-

- to replace existing assets
1,341
2,268
2,215
1,669

Increase (decrease) in reserves
(3,277)
(1,546)
-
(3,922)

Increase (decrease) in investments
-
-
-
-

Total applications of capital funding (D)
(1,936)
722
2,215
(2,253)

Surplus (deficit) of capital funding (C - D)
1,936
443
1,205
2,166

Funding balance ((A - B) + (C - D))
-
-
-
-

Expenses for this activity grouping include the following depreciation/amortisation charge
1,618
1,730
1,795
1,756

Funding impact statement - 1 July 2015 to 30 June 2016 For:
Arts and culture activities

4.1
2014/15
AP
$000
2014/15
Actual
$000
2015/16
LTP
$000
2015/16
Actual
$000

Sources of operating funding

General rates, uniform annual general charges, rates penalties
11,947
11,947
13,008
13,008

Targeted rates
5,243
5,243
5,148
5,148

Subsidies and grants for operating purposes
430
382
410
171

Fees and charges
583
638
577
704

Internal charges and overheads recovered
72
72
-
-

Local authorities fuel tax, fines, infringement fees, and other receipts
-
-
-
-

Total operating funding (A)
18,275
18,282
19,143
19,031

Applications of operating funding

Payments to staff and suppliers
3,510
4,737
4,072
3,993

Finance costs
211
171
276
170

Internal charges and overheads applied
1,049
995
1,024
980

Other operating funding applications
12,680
12,408
13,101
13,211

Total applications of operating funding (B)
17,450
18,311
18,473
18,354

Surplus (deficit) of operating funding (A - B)
825
(29)
670
677

Sources of capital funding

Subsidies and grants for capital expenditure
-
-
1,914
-

Development and financial contributions
-
-
-
-

Increase (decrease) in debt
26
1,533
(363)
1,195

Gross proceeds from sales of assets
-
-
-
-

Lump sum contributions
-
-
-
-

Total sources of capital funding (C)
26
1,533
1,551
1,195

Applications of capital funding

Capital expenditure

- to meet additional demand
-
-
-
-

- to improve the level of service
26
2,370
2,119
1,927

- to replace existing assets
1
1
102
41

Increase (decrease) in reserves
824
(867)
-
(96)

Increase (decrease) in investments
-
-
-
-

Total applications of capital funding (D)
851
1,504
2,221
1,872

Surplus (deficit) of capital funding (C - D)
(825)
29
(670)
(677)

Funding balance ((A - B) + (C - D))
-
-
-
-

Expenses for this activity grouping include the following depreciation/amortisation charge
825
838
670
773

Funding impact statement - 1 July 2015 to 30 June 2016 For:
Recreation promotion and support

5.1
2014/15
AP
$000
2014/15
Actual
$000
2015/16
LTP
$000
2015/16
Actual
$000

Sources of operating funding

General rates, uniform annual general charges, rates penalties
24,001
24,001
25,083
25,083

Targeted rates
1,039
1,039
1,088
1,088

Subsidies and grants for operating purposes
398
277
200
332

Fees and charges
11,483
10,617
11,547
10,971

Internal charges and overheads recovered
1,051
1,036
1,116
1,088

Local authorities fuel tax, fines, infringement fees, and other receipts
-
-
-
-

Total operating funding (A)
37,972
36,970
39,034
38,562

Applications of operating funding

Payments to staff and suppliers
16,950
17,494
17,953
18,459

Finance costs
3,725
3,477
3,615
3,310

Internal charges and overheads applied
9,411
9,635
9,214
8,966

Other operating funding applications
650
677
663
589

Total applications of operating funding (B)
30,736
31,283
31,445
31,324

Surplus (deficit) of operating funding (A - B)
7,236
5,687
7,589
7,238

Sources of capital funding

Subsidies and grants for capital expenditure
-
-
-
-

Development and financial contributions
-
302
-
203

Increase (decrease) in debt
457
(1,002)
736
(2,027)

Gross proceeds from sales of assets
-
-
-
-

Lump sum contributions
-
-
-
-

Total sources of capital funding (C)
457
(700)
736
(1,824)

Applications of capital funding

Capital expenditure

- to meet additional demand
123
-
-
-

- to improve the level of service
334
443
1,476
2,123

- to replace existing assets
2,564
6,260
6,849
3,681

Increase (decrease) in reserves
4,672
(1,716)
-
(390)

Increase (decrease) in investments
-
-
-
-

Total applications of capital funding (D)
7,693
4,987
8,325
5,414

Surplus (deficit) of capital funding (C - D)
(7,236)
(5,687)
(7,589)
(7,238)

Funding balance ((A - B) + (C - D))
-
-
-
-

Expenses for this activity grouping include the following depreciation/amortisation charge
7,324
7,491
7,589
7,628

Funding impact statement - 1 July 2015 to 30 June 2016 For:
Community support

5.2
2014/15
AP
$000
2014/15
Actual
$000
2015/16
LTP
$000
2015/16
Actual
$000

Sources of operating funding

General rates, uniform annual general charges, rates penalties
21,755
21,755
22,792
22,792

Targeted rates
4,179
4,179
4,250
4,250

Subsidies and grants for operating purposes
1,296
1,045
969
1,240

Fees and charges
22,057
22,760
22,869
23,112

Internal charges and overheads recovered
1,287
1,554
1,171
1,231

Local authorities fuel tax, fines, infringement fees, and other receipts
659
526
586
498

Total operating funding (A)
51,233
51,819
52,637
53,123

Applications of operating funding

Payments to staff and suppliers
26,166
26,477
26,470
26,185

Finance costs
(725)
(1,809)
(1,632)
(2,468)

Internal charges and overheads applied
10,410
11,142
11,542
11,701

Other operating funding applications
3,160
3,036
4,084
3,911

Total applications of operating funding (B)
39,011
38,846
40,464
39,329

Surplus (deficit) of operating funding (A - B)
12,222
12,973
12,173
13,794

Sources of capital funding

Subsidies and grants for capital expenditure
32,036
13,388
20,668
11,254

Development and financial contributions
-
57
-
38

Increase (decrease) in debt
250
(20,498)
(3,771)
3,239

Gross proceeds from sales of assets
-
-
-
-

Lump sum contributions
-
-
-
-

Total sources of capital funding (C)
32,286
(7,053)
16,897
14,531

Applications of capital funding

Capital expenditure

- to meet additional demand
-
-
-
83

- to improve the level of service
32,284
13,453
26,139
12,142

- to replace existing assets
6,915
7,988
8,763
7,427

Increase (decrease) in reserves
5,309
(15,521)
(5,832)
8,673

Increase (decrease) in investments
-
-
-
-

Total applications of capital funding (D)
44,508
5,920
29,070
28,325

Surplus (deficit) of capital funding (C - D)
(12,222)
(12,973)
(12,173)
(13,794)

Funding balance ((A - B) + (C - D))
-
-
-
-

Expenses for this activity grouping include the following depreciation/amortisation charge
15,730
15,146
15,318
13,646

Funding impact statement - 1 July 2015 to 30 June 2016 For:
Public health and safety

5.3
2014/15
AP
$000
2014/15
Actual
$000
2015/16
LTP
$000
2015/16
Actual
$000

Sources of operating funding

General rates, uniform annual general charges, rates penalties
8,266
8,266
9,540
9,540

Targeted rates
-
-
-
-

Subsidies and grants for operating purposes
25
17
25
17

Fees and charges
3,962
3,921
3,993
4,053

Internal charges and overheads recovered
676
699
664
692

Local authorities fuel tax, fines, infringement fees, and other receipts
52
42
39
30

Total operating funding (A)
12,981
12,945
14,261
14,332

Applications of operating funding

Payments to staff and suppliers
8,284
8,443
9,012
8,971

Finance costs
76
77
91
131

Internal charges and overheads applied
3,980
4,096
4,386
4,529

Other operating funding applications
129
26
129
45

Total applications of operating funding (B)
12,469
12,642
13,618
13,676

Surplus (deficit) of operating funding (A - B)
512
303
643
656

Sources of capital funding

Subsidies and grants for capital expenditure
-
6
-
-

Development and financial contributions
-
9
-
6

Increase (decrease) in debt
206
386
1,028
(255)

Gross proceeds from sales of assets
-
-
-
-

Lump sum contributions
-
-
-
-

Total sources of capital funding (C)
206
401
1,028
(249)

Applications of capital funding

Capital expenditure

- to meet additional demand
-
-
-
-

- to improve the level of service
206
105
110
78

- to replace existing assets
1,104
934
1,561
736

Increase (decrease) in reserves
(592)
(335)
-
(407)

Increase (decrease) in investments
-
-
-
-

Total applications of capital funding (D)
718
704
1,671
407

Surplus (deficit) of capital funding (C - D)
(512)
(303)
(643)
(656)

Funding balance ((A - B) + (C - D))
-
-
-
-

Expenses for this activity grouping include the following depreciation/amortisation charge
527
653
643
1,063

Funding impact statement - 1 July 2015 to 30 June 2016 For:
Urban planning, heritage and public spaces development

6.1
2014/15
AP
$000
2014/15
Actual
$000
2015/16
LTP
$000
2015/16
Actual
$000

Sources of operating funding

General rates, uniform annual general charges, rates penalties
7,098
7,098
6,896
6,896

Targeted rates
-
-
-
-

Subsidies and grants for operating purposes
-
67
-
-

Fees and charges
3,922
113
20
323

Internal charges and overheads recovered
310
-
-
384

Local authorities fuel tax, fines, infringement fees, and other receipts
-
-
-
-

Total operating funding (A)
11,330
7,278
6,916
7,603

Applications of operating funding

Payments to staff and suppliers
7,775
1,995
2,857
4,416

Finance costs
573
12
15
13

Internal charges and overheads applied
3,040
2,483
3,233
2,192

Other operating funding applications
490
466
800
842

Total applications of operating funding (B)
11,878
4,956
6,905
7,463

Surplus (deficit) of operating funding (A - B)
(548)
2,322
11
140

Sources of capital funding

Subsidies and grants for capital expenditure
-
2,016
-
-

Development and financial contributions
-
-
-
-

Increase (decrease) in debt
1,429
16,905
7,607
5,370

Gross proceeds from sales of assets
2,050
-
650
-

Lump sum contributions
-
-
-
-

Total sources of capital funding (C)
3,479
18,921
8,257
5,370

Applications of capital funding

Capital expenditure

- to meet additional demand
-
-
-
-

- to improve the level of service
1,429
16,259
5,702
4,630

- to replace existing assets
3,267
2,673
2,566
768

Increase (decrease) in reserves
(1,765)
2,311
-
112

Increase (decrease) in investments
-
-
-
-

Total applications of capital funding (D)
2,931
21,243
8,268
5,510

Surplus (deficit) of capital funding (C - D)
548
(2,322)
(11)
(140)

Funding balance ((A - B) + (C - D))
-
-
-
-

Expenses for this activity grouping include the following depreciation/amortisation charge
4,305
11
11
28

Funding impact statement - 1 July 2015 to 30 June 2016 For:
Building and development control

6.2
2014/15
AP
$000
2014/15
Actual
$000
2015/16
LTP
$000
2015/16
Actual
$000

Sources of operating funding

General rates, uniform annual general charges, rates penalties
7,319
7,319
9,449
9,449

Targeted rates
-
-
-
-

Subsidies and grants for operating purposes
-
-
-
-

Fees and charges
12,655
11,308
12,027
11,739

Internal charges and overheads recovered
224
103
224
-

Local authorities fuel tax, fines, infringement fees, and other receipts
24
31
24
65

Total operating funding (A)
20,222
18,761
21,724
21,253

Applications of operating funding

Payments to staff and suppliers
12,991
12,942
12,655
12,508

Finance costs
-
3
3
3

Internal charges and overheads applied
6,971
7,027
8,761
7,979

Other operating funding applications
135
27
135
57

Total applications of operating funding (B)
20,097
19,999
21,554
20,547

Surplus (deficit) of operating funding (A - B)
125
(1,238)
170
706

Sources of capital funding

Subsidies and grants for capital expenditure
-
4
-
-

Development and financial contributions
-
-
-
-

Increase (decrease) in debt
17,651
3,880
5,770
2,070

Gross proceeds from sales of assets
-
-
-
-

Lump sum contributions
-
-
-
-

Total sources of capital funding (C)
17,651
3,884
5,770
2,070

Applications of capital funding

Capital expenditure

- to meet additional demand
-
-
-
-

- to improve the level of service
17,651
4,036
5,940
2,224

- to replace existing assets
-
-
-
-

Increase (decrease) in reserves
125
(1,390)
-
552

Increase (decrease) in investments
-
-
-
-

Total applications of capital funding (D)
17,776
2,646
5,940
2,776

Surplus (deficit) of capital funding (C - D)
(125)
1,238
(170)
(706)

Funding balance ((A - B) + (C - D))
-
-
-
-

Expenses for this activity grouping include the following depreciation/amortisation charge
125
152
170
154

Funding impact statement - 1 July 2015 to 30 June 2016 For:
Transport

7.1
2014/15
AP
$000
2014/15
Actual
$000
2015/16
LTP
$000
2015/16
Actual
$000

Sources of operating funding

General rates, uniform annual general charges, rates penalties
29,503
29,503
32,648
32,648

Targeted rates
33
33
33
-

Subsidies and grants for operating purposes
4,774
5,233
4,046
4,076

Fees and charges
2,100
1,640
2,042
2,520

Internal charges and overheads recovered
-
-
-
-

Local authorities fuel tax, fines, infringement fees, and other receipts
-
-
-
-

Total operating funding (A)
36,410
36,409
38,769
39,244

Applications of operating funding

Payments to staff and suppliers
12,530
12,627
12,189
11,659

Finance costs
4,774
4,199
5,169
5,055

Internal charges and overheads applied
5,785
5,097
6,093
5,085

Other operating funding applications
10
(10)
515
1,859

Total applications of operating funding (B)
23,099
21,913
23,966
23,658

Surplus (deficit) of operating funding (A - B)
13,311
14,496
14,803
15,586

Sources of capital funding

Subsidies and grants for capital expenditure
10,590
16,995
12,668
12,765

Development and financial contributions
539
602
539
792

Increase (decrease) in debt
9,418
11,277
10,563
6,507

Gross proceeds from sales of assets
-
(91)
-
-

Lump sum contributions
-
-
-
-

Total sources of capital funding (C)
20,547
28,783
23,770
20,064

Applications of capital funding

Capital expenditure

- to meet additional demand
1,765
4,494
1,580
-

- to improve the level of service
10,968
13,003
11,199
11,077

- to replace existing assets
24,979
23,892
25,794
24,114

Increase (decrease) in reserves
(3,854)
1,890
-
459

Increase (decrease) in investments
-
-
-
-

Total applications of capital funding (D)
33,858
43,279
38,573
35,650

Surplus (deficit) of capital funding (C - D)
(13,311)
(14,496)
(14,803)
(15,586)

Funding balance ((A - B) + (C - D))
-
-
-
-

Expenses for this activity grouping include the following depreciation/amortisation charge
22,285
21,580
22,646
22,970

Funding impact statement - 1 July 2015 to 30 June 2016 For:
Parking

7.2
2014/15
AP
$000
2014/15
Actual
$000
2015/16
LTP
$000
2015/16
Actual
$000

Sources of operating funding

General rates, uniform annual general charges, rates penalties
(14,086)
(14,086)
(14,051)
(14,051)

Targeted rates
-
-
-
-

Subsidies and grants for operating purposes
-
-
-
-

Fees and charges
18,316
19,623
19,899
20,568

Internal charges and overheads recovered
-
-
-
-

Local authorities fuel tax, fines, infringement fees, and other receipts
7,706
6,019
7,556
5,875

Total operating funding (A)
11,936
11,556
13,404
12,392

Applications of operating funding

Payments to staff and suppliers
9,850
8,145
10,346
9,017

Finance costs
17
437
479
347

Internal charges and overheads applied
1,593
1,522
1,987
1,949

Other operating funding applications
1
455
1
281

Total applications of operating funding (B)
11,461
10,559
12,813
11,594

Surplus (deficit) of operating funding (A - B)
475
997
591
798

Sources of capital funding

Subsidies and grants for capital expenditure
-
-
-
-

Development and financial contributions
-
-
-
-

Increase (decrease) in debt
30
(570)
858
675

Gross proceeds from sales of assets
-
-
-
-

Lump sum contributions
-
-
-
-

Total sources of capital funding (C)
30
(570)
858
675

Applications of capital funding

Capital expenditure

- to meet additional demand
-
-
-
-

- to improve the level of service
30
-
1,449
1,342

- to replace existing assets
150
89
-
-

Increase (decrease) in reserves
325
338
-
131

Increase (decrease) in investments
-
-
-
-

Total applications of capital funding (D)
505
427
1,449
1,473

Surplus (deficit) of capital funding (C - D)
(475)
(997)
(591)
(798)

Funding balance ((A - B) + (C - D))
-
-
-
-

Expenses for this activity grouping include the following depreciation/amortisation charge
475
659
591
667

Capital expenditure and carry forwards by strategy

2014/15
Actual

$000
2015/16
LTP

$000
2015/16
Actual

$000
2015/16
Carry Forward
to 2016/17
$000
2015/16
Carry Forward
beyond 2016/17
$000

Governance

- to meet additional demand
-
-
-
-
-

- to improve the level of service
-
-
-
-
-

- to replace existing assets
-
116
-
-
-

Governance Total
-
116
-
-
-

Environment

- to meet additional demand
871
1,087
993
23
-

- to improve the level of service
6,558
9,950
7,068
844
-

- to replace existing assets
25,211
26,960
28,811
1,167
-

Environment Total
32,640
37,997
36,872
2,034
-

Economic Development

- to meet additional demand
-
-
-
-
-

- to improve the level of service
-
-
-
-
-

- to replace existing assets
2,268
1,742
1,669
749
-

Economic Development Total
2,268
1,742
1,669
749
-

Cultural WELLBEING

- to meet additional demand
-
-
-
-
-

- to improve the level of service
2,370
25
1,927
43
-

- to replace existing assets
1
2
41
60
-

Cultural Wellbeing Total
2,371
27
1,968
103
-

Social and Recreation

- to meet additional demand
-
822
83
-
-

- to improve the level of service
14,001
27,190
14,343
842
13,799

- to replace existing assets
15,182
13,673
11,844
6,365
-

Social and Recreation Total
29,183
41,685
26,270
7,207
13,799

Urban Development

- to meet additional demand
-
-
-
-
-

- to improve the level of service
20,295
15,083
6,854
3,544
5,407

- to replace existing assets
2,673
979
768
1,610
1,224

Urban Development Total
22,968
16,062
7,622
5,154
6,631

Transport

- to meet additional demand
4,494
-
-
-
-

- to improve the level of service
13,003
20,448
12,419
1,367
2,390

- to replace existing assets
23,981
20,872
24,114
720
1,018

Transport Total
41,478
41,320
36,533
2,087
3,408

Council

- to meet additional demand
-
-
-
-
-

- to improve the level of service
133
16,304
93
1,903
-

- to replace existing assets
15,436
17,269
34,910
4,921
-

Council Total
15,569
33,573
35,003
6,824
-

Total Council

- to meet additional demand
5,365
1,909
1,076
23
-

- to improve the level of service
56,360
89,000
42,704
8,543
21,596

- to replace existing assets
84,752
81,613
102,157
15,592
2,242

Total Council total
146,477
172,522
145,937
24,158
23,838

Appendices

Glossary

Annual Plan – the Annual Plan is a budget prepared by the Council showing the expected cost of running the city for the year of the plan and how the costs will be funded. An Annual Plan is not prepared in years when a Long-term Plan is prepared (see Long-term Plan).

Associates and Jointly Controlled Entities – are entities that the Council owns a share of but does not control. Our share of the Associate’s or Jointly Controlled Entities’ net surpluses or deficits and net assets is recorded in the Group financial statements. The Council’s Associates are; Chaffers Marina Holding Limited (10.52%) and Wellington International Airport Limited (34%), and its Jointly Controlled Entity is Wellington Water Limited (42.11%).

Capital expenditure – expenditure on assets that provide a long term ongoing benefit to the Council, usually fixed assets (property, plant and equipment), for example buildings.

Cash and cash equivalents – includes cash as well as deposits which mature in three months or less.

Current asset – an asset that can readily be converted to cash or will be used to repay a liability within 12 months of balance date.

Current liability – a liability that is required to be discharged within 12 months of balance date.

Depreciation (amortisation) – an expense charged each year to reflect the estimated cost of using our assets over their lives. Amortisation relates to ‘intangible’ assets such as software (as distinct from physical assets, which are covered by depreciation).

External funding for capital expenditure – funding recorded as revenue but used to fund capital expenditure projects.

Fair value – essentially reflects the market value of assets or liabilities.

Investment properties – these are properties primarily held by the Council to earn rental revenue.

Liquidity/funding risk – this is the risk that the Council will not have access to the required funds to meet its present obligations.

Long-term Plan – A 10-year forecast prepared every three years showing the expected cost of running the city for the following 10 years and how the costs will be funded.

Net borrowings – total borrowings less any funds held on deposit.

Net surplus/deficit - net surplus/deficit is the difference between total revenue and total expenses. It includes both operating revenue and operating expenditure as well as other non-funded items of revenue and expenditure such as capital funding, vested asset revenue and fair value movements.

Operational expenditure – expenditure that is not capital expenditure (see capital expenditure).

Prudential limits – these are limits applied to the level of borrowings to ensure we are managing the Council’s assets and liabilities prudently. These limits are outlined in the Investment and Liability Management Policy in the Long-term Plan.

Ring-fenced funds – funds that can only be used for a specific purpose.

Total comprehensive revenue and expense – is the net surplus/deficit adjusted for fair value movements of some of our assets including property, plant and equipment and financial instruments such as cash flow hedges. These movements are non-cash in nature and reflect changing fair values of assets the Council owns.

Underlying funding surplus/deficit – the portion of the overall net surplus/deficit that has arisen from changes to operating revenue operational expenditure as compared to budget.

Unfunded depreciation – the amount of depreciation not funded by rates. This relates mainly to roading assets funded by NZTA and waste water treatment assets where the operator has responsibility for asset renewal.

Vested assets – assets created by others and passed into Council ownership (e.g. roads built by a developer as part of a subdivision).

Mayor and Councillors

CELIA WADE-BROWN
(MAYOR) City-wide

mayor@wcc.govt.nz

RAY AHIPENE-MERCER
Eastern Ward

ray.ahipene-mercer@wcc.govt.nz 

Andy Foster
Onslow-Western Ward

andy.foster@wcc.govt.nz

Sarah Free
Eastern Ward

sarah.free@wcc.govt.nz

Simon Marsh
Eastern Ward

simon.marsh@wcc.govt.nz

Iona Pannett
Lambton Ward

iona.pannett@wcc.govt.nz

Malcolm Sparrow
Northern Ward

malcolm.sparrow@wcc.govt.nz

Simon Woolf
Onslow-Western Ward

simon.woolf@wcc.govt.nz

Jo Coughlan
Onslow-Western Ward

jo.coughlan@wcc.govt.nz

Paul Eagle
Southern Ward

paul.eagle@wcc.govt.nz

David Lee
Southern Ward

david.lee@wcc.govt.nz

Justin Lester
Northern Ward

justin.lester@wcc.govt.nz

Mark Peck
Lambton Ward

mark.peck@wcc.govt.nz

Helene Ritchie
Northern Ward

helene.ritchie@wcc.govt.nz

Nicola Young
Lambton Ward

nicola.young@wcc.govt.nz

Independent auditor’s report

To the readers of Wellington City Council and group’s annual report for the year ended 30 June 2016

The Auditor-General is the auditor of Wellington City Council (the City Council) and group. The Auditor-General has appointed me, Bede Kearney, using the staff and resources of Audit New Zealand, on her behalf, to:

audit the information included in the City Council and group’s annual report that we are required to audit under the Local Government Act 2002 (the audited information); and

report on whether the City Council and group has complied with the requirements of Schedule 10 of the Local Government Act 2002 that apply to the annual report and the Local Government (Financial Reporting and Prudence) Regulations 2014.

Opinion on the audited information

In our opinion:

the financial statements on pages 143 to 234;

present fairly, in all material respects:

the City Council and group’s financial position as at 30 June 2016; and

the results of its operations and cash flows for the year ended on that date; and

comply with generally accepted accounting practice in New Zealand and have been prepared in accordance with Public Benefit Entity Standards;

the funding impact statement on page 242, presents fairly, in all material respects, the amount of funds produced from each source of funding and how the funds were applied as compared to the information included in the City Council and group’s Long-term plan;

the statement of service performance as presented in; Statements of Service Provision on pages 22 to 113, Measuring Our Performance an pages 114 to 130 and the explanation tables on pages 131 to 134;

presents fairly, in all material respects, the City Council and group’s levels of service for each group of activities for the year ended 30 June 2016, including:

the levels of service achieved compared with the intended levels of service and whether any intended changes to levels of service were achieved;

the reasons for any significant variation between the levels of service achieved and the intended levels of service; and

complies with generally accepted accounting practice in New Zealand;

the statement about capital expenditure for each group of activities on page 260 presents fairly, in all material respects, actual capital expenditure as compared to the budgeted capital expenditure included in the City Council and group’s Long-term plan; and

the funding impact statement for each group of activities on pages 243 to 259, presents fairly, in all material respects, the amount of funds produced from each source of funding and how the funds were applied as compared to the information included in the City Council and group’s long-term plan.

Compliance with requirements

The City Council and group has:

complied with the requirements of schedule 10 of the Local Government Act 2002 that apply to the annual report; and

made the disclosures on pages 144 to 259 which are required by the Local Government (Financial Reporting and Prudence) Regulations 2014 which represent a complete list of required disclosures and accurately reflects the information drawn from the City Council and group’s audited information.

Our audit was completed on 28 September 2016. This is the date at which our opinion is expressed.

The basis of our opinion is explained below. In addition, we outline the responsibilities of the Council and our responsibilities, and we explain our independence.

Basis of opinion

We carried out our audit in accordance with the Auditor-General’s Auditing Standards, which incorporate the International Standards on Auditing (New Zealand). Those standards require that we comply with ethical requirements and plan and carry out our audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the information we audited is free from material misstatement.

Material misstatements are differences or omissions of amounts and disclosures that, in our judgement, are likely to influence readers’ overall understanding of the audited information. If we had found material misstatements that were not corrected, we would have referred to them in our opinion.

An audit involves carrying out procedures to obtain audit evidence about the amounts and disclosures in the information we audited. The procedures selected depend on our judgement, including our assessment of risks of material misstatement of the information we audited, whether due to fraud or error. In making those risk assessments, we consider internal control relevant to the City Council and group’s preparation of the information we audited in order to design procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the City Council and group’s internal control.

An audit also involves evaluating:

the appropriateness of accounting policies used and whether they have been consistently applied;

the reasonableness of the significant accounting estimates and judgements made by the Council;

the adequacy of the disclosures in the information we audited;

determining the appropriateness of the reported statement of service performance within the City Council’s framework for reporting performance; and

the overall presentation of the information we audited.

We did not examine every transaction, nor do we guarantee complete accuracy of the information we audited.

When reporting on whether the City Council and group complied with the requirements of Schedule 10 of the Local Government Act 2002 that apply to the annual report, we limited our procedures to making sure the annual report included the required information and identifying material inconsistencies, if any, with the information we audited. We carried out this work in accordance with International Standard on Auditing (New Zealand) 720; The Auditor’s Responsibilities Relating to Other Information in Documents Containing Audited Financial Statements.

We did not evaluate the security and controls over the electronic publication of the information we are required to audit and report on. We believe we have obtained sufficient and appropriate audit evidence to provide a basis for our audit opinion.

Responsibilities of the Council

The Council is responsible for meeting all legal requirements that apply to its annual report.

The Council’s responsibilities arise under the Local Government Act 2002 and the Local Government (Financial Reporting and Prudence) Regulations 2014.

The Council is responsible for such internal control as it determines is necessary to ensure that the annual report is free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error. The Council is also responsible for the publication of the annual report, whether in printed or electronic form.

Responsibilities of the Auditor

We are responsible for expressing an independent opinion on the annual report in accordance with the reporting requirements of the Local Government Act 2002 and the Local Government (Financial Reporting and Prudence) Regulations 2014. Our responsibility arises from the Public Audit Act 2001.

Independence

When carrying out our audit, we followed the independence requirements of the Auditor-General, which incorporate the independence requirements of the External Reporting Board. Other than this audit, an audit of the City Council and group’s LTP amendment, an independent assurance review under the City Council and group’s Debenture Trust Deed, and a review of the revenue and expenditure of the Clifton Terrace car park managed by the City Council and group on behalf of the New Zealand Transport Agency, we have no relationship with, or interests, in the City Council or any of its subsidiaries.

Bede Kearney
Audit New Zealand
On behalf of the Auditor-General
Wellington, New Zealand