The country's biggest local body, the Auckland Council has made a half-year surplus of $638 million.
The council said its income was up 7.4 percent, with costs up 8.7 percent.
It said one of its biggest cost increases had been in staffing, which was up 9.5 percent.
That was partly due to an annual wage rise, increased staff numbers due to bringing work from contractors back in-house, and additional staff on new projects.