Dunedin city councillors have been warned not to expect a surplus, despite the Dunedin City Council's books being $8 million in the black.
Councillors at yesterday's finance, strategy and development committee received a staff report showing an $8.23 million surplus after 11 months of the financial year, to May 31.
That was $13 million better than expected, as council staff had been forecasting a $4.8 million deficit for the same period.
However, committee chairman Cr Syd Brown cautioned councillors not to get excited, because appearances could be deceiving.
Council financial controller Maree Clarke said most of the surplus was made up of non-cash items, including gains on the Waipori Fund of $4.4 million and another $4 million in favourable depreciation.
The full-year surplus was expected to reduce to $3.2 million, of which $2.6 million would come from non-cash revaluations of council investment properties, she said.
That meant the final result was going to be ''very finely managed'', especially with the council facing unbudgeted costs from last month's weather event and damage to the St Clair sea wall, she said.
''Any [surplus] has been very quickly mopped up by those.
''There won't be any cash at the end. It's very finely balanced,'' she said.
