Local authorities around the country had a collective operating deficit in the last quarter.

But Statistics New Zealand says things have improved since the start of the year.

Total expenditure exceeded income by $50.6m, despite the fact income was up.

Operating income from core services was just under $2.1b - up 6.1% from the March quarter.

But operating expenditure also rose, up 0.9% to just over $2.1b.