Council adopts Long Term Plan 2021-2031

Western Bay of Plenty District Council has adopted its Long Term Plan 2021-2031, following a record level of community feedback.

The plan sets an average increase of 11.5 per cent for existing residents in Year One of the Long Term Plan. Council has set a limit to keep average rate increases below 4 per cent for the remaining nine years of the plan.

An average of 4 per cent of the rates in Year One is to implement Council’s kerbside rubbish and recycling collection service, for those properties that receive the service. That service will see around 1800 tonnes of rubbish diverted from landfill every year.

Western Bay Mayor Garry Webber says the Long Term Plan is a good reflection of the community having engaged on a record scale, receiving 44,206 pieces of feedback across three phases of community engagement on the plan in 2020 and 2021.

“The voices of our community matter to us and shape our decisions for service delivery across the District. We know our communities have different needs, so we have considered local priorities and requests for funding from the community carefully,” says Mayor Garry.

“As the Western Bay remains one of the country's fastest growing provincial districts in New Zealand, we have endeavoured to balance the competing tensions between investment in critical infrastructure, rates affordability and responding to the many community requests for funding and projects.”

Taking into account all the feedback received through the consultation process, Council made the following decisions:

• Allocating $15 million for a new swimming pool in Te Puke in 2026, a new covered roof ($2 million) for the Dave Hume Pool in Katikati – followed by a new pool for Katikati post 2040
• A $100.5 million investment over 10 years for the District’s roading maintenance programme ($1.1 million increase per annum)
• $16.5 million over 10 years to provide more walking and cycling choices for getting people around the District.

In the 2021/2022 financial year $75.1 million in rates is budgeted to be collected. This is made up of District rates ($46.6 million), Water Supply, Wastewater & Stormwater ($22.9 million) and other targeted rates ($5.6 million), which includes funding for community boards and Council’s kerbside recycling collection.

Council's net debt was $75.5 million in 2020. It is currently $60.3 million and is forecast to increase to $270.3 million by 2031.

“This increase in debt is due to the large capital programme of $700m over the 10 years of the Long Term Plan required to enable our District to meet the needs of growth, replacing old assets or maintaining the level of service within our community, compared to the $414 million capital programme in the last Long Term Plan,” explains Mayor Garry.

Within Council’s capital programme, $300m is forecast to be spent on transport and roading, a key focus of Council during the Long Term Plan 2021-2031.

Not all of Council’s debt will be repaid through rates as a significant portion of Council’s investment is for growth-related infrastructure, which will be repaid by developers through financial contributions.

In order to keep future rates increases below the rate increase limits set in the Financial Strategy, Council have funded elements of the transport capital programme through long term debt.

The decision between funding Council’s capital programme by either long-term debt or up-front through rates is guided by the principle of intergenerational equity. Most of the infrastructure Council is investing in will be used by multiple generations and this principle demonstrates that long-term debt is the best way to make sure each generation pays their fair share of the investment required.

Mayor Garry says the Long Term Plan provides clear direction, financial prudence, and careful planning to ensure that the Western Bay district prospers and grows.

“We are committed to ensuring that service levels are maintained and that the wellbeing of communities, sometimes in partnership with others, is enhanced where possible.

“Whether it is maintaining our roads, rubbish and recycling, or complying with drinking water standards, what we do now future proofs our communities.”

To view the full Long Term Plan 2021-2031 visit www.westernbay.govt.nz/longtermplan2021-2031.