27 July 2021
File Ref: 5-IM-2
Ian Rae
Via email: [FYI request #15930 email]
Dear Mr Rae
Local Government Official Information Request
Thank you for your request made under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act
(LGOIMA), relating to Taihape Borough Financial Reserves, received on 29thJune 2021. Our response to
your question is below:
1. In 1989 Taihape Borough Council became part of Rangitikei District Council. In that process
Taihape had substantial reserves in Hand, but do not appear to have been accounted for. Can
Council please advise what they believe is the value of Taihape B C reserves handed over to RDC,
during amalgamation for the new district council.
Response:
Since receipt of your email staff have undertaken searches through the archives of the former
Taihape Borough Council (held in Archives Central, Feilding) as this would be the most likely place
for information on the Taihape Borough Council’s financial reserves at the time of amalgamation
to form the Rangitikei District Council in 1989. However, the key series of records ‘Annual accounts
and balance sheets’ (RDC 00109), while starting with the formation of the borough in 1906, stops
in 1983. A search through other accessions from the Rangitikei District Council at Archives Central
has not identified comparable records which would have been made between 1983 and 1989. We
have also conducted searches through other series of archives from the Taihape Borough Council:
the Finance Committee meeting agendas reports and papers (RDC 00081) show that annual
reports for 1987/88 and 1988/89 were tabled at the meetings, but the tabled documents are not
present. Such reports are not in the series Town Clerk’s reports 1988-89 (RDC 00070) or the
Borough Council’s meeting agendas, reports and papers, 1988-89 (RDC 00129).
However, there is one large sequence of Taihape Borough Council archives at Archives Central
which has yet to be ful y researched: this is ‘Local government reorganisation – general
correspondence’ in the Miscel aneous files series (RDC 00104). This may prove fruitful as there
were a number of detailed tasks set by the Local Government Commission for transitional
committees for the new local authorities to complete (e.g. F103 Co-ordinating uniting authorities’
estimates). An enquiry to Archives New Zealand about the Local Government Commission’s file
on the Taihape Borough Council (R1144976) yielded copies of a statement of payments and related
sources of funds applied for the year ended 31 March 1985. A copy of that is attached: it shows,
at that date, ‘Special Funds’ total ed $292,910.
We have also identified the National Library of New Zealand holds the published ‘Accounts for the
year to 31 March [1990]: of the authorities which amalgamated to form Rangitikei District Council’.
This is not held either by Archives Central or by the Rangitikei District Council itself. We have
requested a copy (which, if provided, wil be placed with Archives Central) as this may detail the
financial reserves presented by the Taihape Borough Council in 1989.
Council has now received from the National Library of New Zealand an electronic copy of the
published ‘Accounts for the year to 31 March [1990]: of the authorities which amalgamated to
form Rangitikei District Council’. As previously noted, this was not held either by Archives Central
or by the Rangitikei District Council itself.
The ful report is attached. Pages 7-11 sets out the accounts (including reserves) for the Taihape
Borough Council brought into the amalgamation represented by the Rangitikei District Council,
which is the information you requested.
Yours sincerely
Carol Gordon
Group Manager Democracy & Planning
