The Invercargill City Council proposes to join the Local Government Funding Agency scheme and invites residents to make submissions on the proposal.

Council Interim Director of Finance Dave Foster said by joining the LGFA scheme, Council could borrow at lower interest margins, resulting in cost savings.

The LGFA is a council-controlled trading organisation established by a group of local authorities and the Crown.

“Until now, Council borrowing was acquired through a similar process to which businesses might access loans, such as through banks. Council also issued local authority bonds,” Mr Foster said.

“While Council has always benefitted from reasonable interest rates in the past, it has been identified that Council could save up to $521,000 each year by utilising the LGFA scheme. The LGFA is unique in that it only provides funding like this for local government agencies, which is why Invercargill City Council can benefit from the scheme.”

To find out more about the proposal, and how to make a submission, visit the Council website’s consultation page.  Submissions close on Friday, 23 November 2018.