The Queenstown Lakes District Council has reported a ''pretty pleasing'' result for the financial year ended June 30, which included operating costs $3.2 million below budget and total debt of just over $105 million - $23 million less than budgeted for in the long-term plan.
Chief financial officer Stewart Burns told the Finance and Corporate committee at its final meeting during this three-year term the financial results were preliminary, but strongly indicative of the actual results.
Term liabilities for the end of the 2012-13 financial year totalled $105.6 million, compared to $102.6 million for 2011-12.
In its long-term plan the council had budgeted $128 million, largely due to unspent capital expenditure, he said earlier this week.
Total capital expenditure for the year was $46.28 million, compared with a budgeted $73.99 million.
The underspending was primarily because a variety of projects did not proceed, Some had either been carried forward or included in the 2013-14 annual plan, while others ended up ''not being capital expenditure when we tested it against the rules''.
Operating costs for the year were $3.2 million below budget - $80,233,000 compared with a budgeted $83,470,000 - attributed to continued cost management and borrowings less than budgeted.
Mr Burns said in terms of capital-related revenue, vested assets were down from a budgeted $9.1 million to $2.3 million. However, it was ''nothing to be concerned about''.
''Vested assets will recover through the development of projects ... they are all down on our estimation, but our estimation is based on historical data.''
