Entry received from: Tauranga City Council
Category: Collaborative Government Action
The Infrastructure Funding and Financing Act (IFF) was introduced by the Government to provide an off-balance sheet funding solution which fast-growth councils like Tauranga City Council (TCC) can use to provide the infrastructure their communities need to grow and thrive. IFF funding must be approved by Government and the debt is raised on the Government's behalf through third-party lenders. Debt repayment is financed through a levy on the properties which benefit from the infrastructure provided.
This is of particular importance to TCC, as we currently have high debt levels which constrain new borrowing.
This is the first time the IFF has been used and the development and implementation of the financing proposal involved required extensive collaboration between Council and Government agencies to achieve the desired outcome, which in this case was the provision of $177 million to contribute to up to 13 projects included in the Western Bay of Plenty Transport System Plan (TSP).
The finance raised is expected to fund approximately 20 per cent of the capital expenditure for this programme of works and will be repaid over 30 years using revenue from a citywide levy charged to almost all Tauranga City Council ratepayers.
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