Auckland Council awarded $13k

Activist Penny Bright pictured at home in Kingsland, Auckland. Photo / Chris Gorman

Auckland Council has today been awarded more than $13,000 towards costs incurred while recouping unpaid rates from activist Penny Bright.

Ms Bright owed $34,182.56 in rates for her Kingsland house, as of June 30, 2015.

The $13,249.20 of costs awarded by the Auckland District Court is in addition to the rates owed, which backdate to 2007.

Earlier this year, the court ruled Ms Bright must pay the rates owed to the council.

Ms Bright has refused to pay her rates until the council maintains full and accurate records of private sector contractors.

"It is our public money and when I'm the mayor of Auckland I will have a small team of professional forensic accountants based and paid for out of the mayoral budget. They will report to me and find out where every dollar of ratepayer money is being spent, invested and borrowed," Ms Bright, a candidate for the Auckland mayoralty this year, said previously.

In a very small number of cases, the council will seek to recover rates through a court ordered sale of the property. This is only after all other options have been exhausted and the ratepayer is still refusing to enter into any payment arrangements.