The first council report cards are due out this month.

The Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) confirmed the Government’s first benchmarking report on council performance will be released in mid-July.

“Publishing in mid-July ensures the most up-to-date data is used, providing clearer and more accurate information on council performance in the last year," a spokesperson said.

The timing comes as many ratepayers will get their new rates bill in the post, with households across New Zealand facing jumps ranging from 2.2% to more than 15%.

The Government announced the council performance benchmarks in December.

At the time, Local Government Minister Simeon Brown said the performance measures would “give ratepayers more visibility about the financial prudence of their council”.

The DIA stated the first release will take the form of council profiles focused on financial performance.

“Councils have been grouped by population size, and each council profile will list metrics relating to demographics, rates, debt, staffing levels, and remuneration, and operating and capital expenditure, alongside group medians.

“Council profiles will be accompanied by comparison tables for each council group, where measures from the relevant profiles are tabled for direct comparison.”

When the report cards were announced at the end of last year, Ashburton Mayor Neil Brown said he anticipated Ashburton “would get an A grade”.

Local Government NZ previously said benchmarking and increased transparency should help communities better understand what they get for their rates.

LGNZ President Sam Broughton said at the time that councils “want to be held accountable by ratepayers for every dollar they collect”.

He said council wanted to work with the Government to ensure the benchmarking and performance measures give a full and accurate picture to the community.

By Jonathan Leask