With various sources of local body election advertising gone from the roadsides and our airwaves, candidates are now crunching the numbers on how much their failed or successful campaigns have cost.

Under election advertising rules, all candidates must file an expenditure report by December 11 – which is 55 days after the local body elections closed. Candidate's various expenses relate to the three-month period from July 12 to October 12.

Various signage is put up in and around Tauranga and the Western Bay of Plenty during elections.

Tauranga City Council electoral officer Warwick Lampp says already, an undisclosed number of prompt responses have been lodged by Tauranga candidates.

'I have got some now but haven't looked at them. We won't put them up on our website until the cut-off date,” says Warwick.

'There's only been one case that has gone over the budget; and that was in the Wairarapa mayoralty last time round. Everyone knows the deal and knows what they have to do.”

In Tauranga City, mayoral candidates are given a $55,000 campaigning budget based on the city's estimated 116,440 population, which sits within an allocated population range of 99,000 and 150,000.

At large candidates are also given the same $55,000 cap as mayoral candidates.

Candidates competing for the six vacant ward seats have a varying budget, depending on the size of the ward's population.

Both Otumoetai/Pyes Pa and Te Papa/Welcome Bay candidates must keep their election advertising expenditure below a $20,000 budget, as the wards' populations sit between the 20,000 and 39,999, with 38,000 and 36,700 respectively.

Mount Maunganui/Papamoa candidates receive an extra $10,000 – bringing their allowed budget to $30,000 – thanks to an extra 3000 residents in the ward pushing it above the 39,999 potential voters threshold with 41,400.

But if any candidate is standing for more than one position – mayor and council – then the highest limit of $55,000 applies, says Warwick.

'In Tauranga, they are pretty good. But last time, in other councils, I had some people spending right on the limit,” says Warwick.

He is mindful a new addition to expenses this year could be social media costs, with a number of younger candidates, including newly elected Tauranga City councillors Matt Cowley and Clayton Mitchell, using Facebook and websites as the driving force of their campaigns.

'If someone incurs a cost in starting that up; then yes. Certainly social media has been bigger this time round, but if there has been any cost involved it's up to the candidate to decide.”

Each candidate is required to keep a record of all campaign expenses and turn in all receipts, invoices and other supporting documents.

Once returned, the forms become a public document and can be inspected for a period of seven years, where people can lodge an official complaint with police who then investigate the accusation.

In a change from previous years, significant amendments have been made to electoral donation requirements. They include a $1500 limit on the size of an anonymous donation – and any candidate receiving a donation exceeding this amount must pay the extra amount to the electoral officer.