Taxi chits probably cheaper than visiting Marlborough Council website
Since July 2011, the Marlborough District Council has paid $410,550 for website design maintenance and development costs. In comparison Dunedin City Council spent only $35,520 over the same time period.
“The only council that spent more on web design than Marlborough was Auckland Council” says Jordan Williams, Executive Director of the Taxpayers’ Union.
“Even if we assume that half of Marlborough’s residents have actually visited the site, it would probably have been cheaper for the Council to pay for a taxi for them to visit the office. It is potentially a huge waste of ratepayer money.”
Wellington City, which redeveloped its award winning website earlier in the year spent almost one hundred thousand dollars less than Marlborough.
Spending on website design maintenance and development costs since July 2011.
Click 'read more' for raw data.
The table below has been collated from information provided by each council under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act.
We requested:
1. Whether the Councils listed spent more than $15,000 on website design (including website development) between 1 July 2011 and 30 June 2013.
2. If so, we asked how much was spent not including in-house staff costs or website maintenance costs (such as hosting).
*As a precise figure was only requested from Councils that had spent more than $15,000 (exclusive of GST) since 1 July 2011, we have estimated the amount spent by Councils that answered the total spent was less than $15,000.
Council |
Website spending |
Population (2011) |
Cost per resident |
| Bay of Plenty Regional Council | $7,500.00* | 277,100 | $0.03 |
| Buller District Council | $7,500.00* | 10,100 | $0.74 |
| Central Hawke's Bay District Council | $7,500.00* | 13,500 | $0.56 |
| Central Otago District Council | $7,500.00* | 18,400 | $0.41 |
| Clutha District Council | $7,500.00* | 17,550 | $0.43 |
| Far North District Council | $7,500.00* | 58,500 | $0.13 |
| Hauraki District Council | $7,500.00* | 18,750 | $0.40 |
| Invercargill City Council | $7,500.00* | 53,000 | $0.14 |
| Kapiti Coast District Council | $7,500.00* | 49,800 | $0.15 |
| Manawatu-Wanganui Regional Council | $7,500.00* | 232,400 | $0.03 |
| Masterton District Council | $7,500.00* | 23,500 | $0.32 |
| Matamata-Piako District Council | $7,500.00* | 32,000 | $0.23 |
| Northland Regional Council | $7,500.00* | 158,300 | $0.05 |
| Queenstown-Lakes District Council | $7,500.00* | 28,700 | $0.26 |
| Rangitikei District Council | $7,500.00* | 14,800 | $0.51 |
| Ruapehu District Council | $7,500.00* | 13,400 | $0.56 |
| South Taranaki District Council | $7,500.00* | 26,900 | $0.28 |
| South Waikato District Council | $7,500.00* | 22,900 | $0.33 |
| Southland Regional Council | $7,500.00* | 94,900 | $0.08 |
| Tararua District Council | $7,500.00* | 17,700 | $0.42 |
| Tauranga City Council | $7,500.00* | 115,700 | $0.06 |
| Upper Hutt City Council | $7,500.00* | 41,500 | $0.18 |
| Waikato District Council | $7,500.00* | 64,300 | $0.12 |
| Waimakariri District Council | $7,500.00* | 48,600 | $0.15 |
| Waitaki District Council | $7,500.00* | 20,900 | $0.36 |
| Wanganui District Council | $7,500.00* | 43,500 | $0.17 |
| West Coast Regional Council | $7,500.00* | 32,900 | $0.23 |
| Western Bay of Plenty District Council | $7,500.00* | 45,800 | $0.16 |
| Waikato Regional Council | $15,000.00 | 413,000 | $0.04 |
| Gisborne District Council | $16,929.41 | 46,600 | $0.36 |
| Gore District Council | $19,425.00 | 12,300 | $1.58 |
| Kaipara District Council | $20,698.28 | 19,150 | $1.08 |
| Hastings District Council | $22,257.07 | 75,500 | $0.29 |
| Hurunui District Council | $22,819.95 | 11,300 | $2.02 |
| Whakatane District Council | $23,798.71 | 34,500 | $0.69 |
| Ashburton District Council | $24,000.00 | 30,100 | $0.80 |
| Otago Regional Council | $25,120.00 | 209,900 | $0.12 |
| Tasman District Council | $30,750.00 | 48,100 | $0.64 |
| Grey District Council | $32,997.50 | 13,900 | $2.37 |
| Dunedin City Council | $35,520.00 | 126,000 | $0.28 |
| Hutt City Council | $36,029.06 | 103,000 | $0.35 |
| Whangarei District Council | $36,816.68 | 80,500 | $0.46 |
| Taranaki Regional Council | $38,905.74 | 109,700 | $0.35 |
| Timaru District Council | $41,929.01 | 44,700 | $0.94 |
| Napier City Council | $50,785.14 | 57,800 | $0.88 |
| Taupo District Council | $62,073.28 | 34,100 | $1.82 |
| Selwyn District Council | $65,000.00 | 41,100 | $1.58 |
| Southland District Council | $66,292.64 | 29,600 | $2.24 |
| Palmerston North City Council | $68,217.00 | 82,100 | $0.83 |
| Horowhenua District Council | $75,684.38 | 30,700 | $2.47 |
| Waipa District Council | $81,300.00 | 46,100 | $1.76 |
| Thames-Coromandel District Council | $103,777.71 | 27,000 | $3.84 |
| Nelson City Council | $104,277.27 | 46,200 | $2.26 |
| Manawatu District Council | $143,240.00 | 30,000 | $4.77 |
| New Plymouth District Council | $151,200.00 | 73,800 | $2.05 |
| Rotorua District Council | $243,471.00 | 68,900 | $3.53 |
| Christchurch City Council | $255,247.00 | 367,700 | $0.69 |
| Porirua City Council | $258,234.80 | 52,700 | $4.90 |
| Wellington Regional Council | $282,156.15 | 487,700 | $0.58 |
| Hamilton City Council | $298,000.00 | 145,600 | $2.05 |
| Wellington City Council | $317,726.00 | 200,100 | $1.59 |
| Hawke's Bay Regional Council | $370,558.50 | 155,300 | $2.39 |
| Marlborough District Council | $410,550.00 | 45,600 | $9.00 |
| Auckland Council | $451,988.00 | 1,373,000 | $0.33 |
| Canterbury Regional Council | No response | 560,700 | N/a |