Council adopts Annual Report 2025/2026
Invercargill City Council has adopted its 2025/2026 Annual Report, providing a detailed account of its financial position, service delivery, and progress against commitments laid out in its Long-term Plan 2024-2034.
The report was adopted at an extraordinary Council meeting yesterday.
The report, which covered the year ending 30 June 2026, recorded a significant investment in infrastructure and community projects, while Council also responded to the unforeseen impacts of the state of emergency throughout the region in October last year.
Invercargill Mayor Tom Campbell said the Annual Report was a crucial opportunity to be transparent with the community about Council’s performance.
Council had spent $76 million on significant asset investment in the financial year, with projects including the development of Te Unua Museum of Southland, as well as new elderly housing units.
Council officially completed six new units at Miller St in May this year, as part of a greater investment into elderly persons housing in the most recent LTP. The first stage of its Housing Innovation Project was completed at Stirrat St in 2024.
“The previous 12 months have not been without their challenges, both from a global economic perspective but from a regional level as well,” Campbell said.
Southland, and Council, faced some uncertainty as a result of the Government’s Simplifying Local Government reforms, as well as the separate Local Government Commission’s investigation into local government reorganisation within the region.
However, the report highlighted Council’s strong stewardship and oversight on behalf of the community, he said.
“The Annual Report gives us an opportunity to reflect on what has been a significant year for our community. Delivering $76 million in capital projects, including significant progress on our new regional museum, reflects the scale of work underway to support our city’s future.”
Council Group Manager Corporate Services Patricia Christie said of the 116 performance measures used to assess Council’s delivery of services, 81 were achieved or exceeded –or 70 percent.
Council’s operational deficit after tax was $8.5 million, including a $2.4 million contribution from vested assets: $2 million better than the planned deficit of $10.5 million, she said.
Unbudgeted costs for repairs following the October 2025 weather event, as well as lost revenue while some Council facilities were temporarily closed as a result of the storm, had also played a role in Council’s financial performance, she said.
