Hamilton City Mayor Andrew King says there is nothing misleading about his statements.

Hamilton's mayor has been accused of misleading the public over the $182m government loan for city growth.

But Mayor Andrew King has clapped back saying he's not talking about the loan. He's talking about the benefit derived from the loan.

The political posturing has kicked off in earnest as incumbents and political hopefuls prepare for an election year with King, this week, announcing his intention to run for a second term as mayor.

CHRISTEL YARDLEY/STUFF Hamilton City Councillor Rob Pascoe says the the $182m loan must be paid back.

On Tuesday, King repeated a line from December where he said the city has received $180m in benefit from the $182m Government's Housing Infrastructure Loan for the Peacocke development and there is no need to pay it back.

This time, though, he added the $68.4m commuter rail funding announced by Transport Minister Phil Twyford in December when he said: "There has never been a council in the history of our city that's got quarter of a billion dollars from central government that we don't have to give back."

Hamilton City Councillor Rob Pascoe said that's wrong. The $182m Government loan will need to be paid back and, on Wednesday, he took to social media calling out King for "political porkies" and exaggeration.

"Again, for the second time to the media this mayor fails to mention Peacocke comes with a loan underwritten by ratepayers for $182m, initially interest free, the city will need to repay," Pascoe said in his Facebook post.

​Central government subsidies for core infrastructure come from other taxes like road taxes and petrol tax - the ratepayer again but from a different pocket, Pascoe said.

"The subsidy hasn't necessarily come solely from Peacocke and that's where Andrew is confusing everybody, and maybe himself, with the reference back to Peacocke," he told Stuff.

"It's what you might call fudging. I hope that he's not doing it on purpose but he is making it sound a hell of a lot better than it really is and, of course, if you are going to run for mayor again then he'll want everything to look all hunky dory and and he'll want to take credit for every good thing that's happened in the city over the last couple of years."

King said he and Pascoe debated this same issue in council chambers during a 2018 public meeting.

"He was told straight in the chamber and he backed off in the chamber and it was all recorded," King said.

An email trail from the chief executive Richard Briggs to several members of the public who queried the $180m windfall verifies the mayor's version, King said.

The Briggs' email, says last year's 10-year plan was "based on $65m in interest savings and $110m in NZTA subsidy".

The use of "quarter of a billion dollars" is an approximation of adding $180m to the $68.4m rail funding, King said, but he is adamant there is nothing untoward.

"There is $70m in interest that we don't have to pay back over the 10-year interest free loan of the $182m and, on top of that, the $110 million from the NZTA roading subsidies for Peacocke.

"When you add those up, those are your $180m."

Candidate nominations for the 2019 local body elections open on July 19, and polls close on October 12.