A surge in Auckland's population lies behind rising numbers of staff and bigger spending, the Auckland Council says.
Auckland City Council building Photo: RNZ / Diego Opatowski
The council has reported an operating surplus of $80 million with both income and spending up during the past year but lower debt levels than expected.
General manager of financial planning Matthew Walker said the population had grown by 45,000 in a year, three times the average of the previous three years.
"We've seen some big lifts in budgets and transport associated with those big public transport programmes, but equally we've seen significant growth in patronage, also within the council in terms of building, resource consent, processing, reflecting that lift in construction activity around the city as well."
He said staff numbers across the council group had grown by more than 200, to nearly 9,700.