Ruapehu District Council was hailed a “ratepayer hero” by the Taxpayers’ Union lobby group last week. That’s because the small North Island council offset an unexpected $700,000 overspend by cutting services and infrastructure investment, rather than hiking rates and fees to cover it.  But, highlighting the difficult balancing act between high rates and even higher debt levels, Newsroom has now confirmed Ruapehu is one of the first councils to bust its debt cap. [...]