Latest news with #LTP
Scoop
2 hours ago
- Business
- Scoop
Gore District Council 2025–34 Long-Term Plan Sets Strategic Course
Gore District Council has formally adopted its 2025–2034 Long-Term Plan (LTP), following a significant consultation process and months of rigorous financial planning. The Council has set an average district-wide rates increase of 8.82% for the 2025/26 financial year, which is lower than what had been flagged in its draft LTP. The average rates increase over the nine-year life of the LTP is 7.32% per year. Total rates revenue is projected to rise from $29.5 million in 2025/26 to $51.2 million in 2033/34 Gore District Mayor Ben Bell said there had been some really tough conversations around the Council table and in the community. The Plan sets a strategic course for the next nine years, aiming to strike a careful balance between affordability for ratepayers and the long-term financial sustainability of Council services and infrastructure, he said. Mayor Bell thanked the community for its input into the LTP. More than 500 submissions were received during the month-long public consultation, a significant increase from previous years. As a result of community feedback and further financial modelling, the key outcomes in the LTP were: • Reducing property maintenance and salary budgets by $550,000 • Including $500,000 in projected revenue from asset sales • Continuing to fund community events These changes helped lower the proposed initial rate increase and reduce operational debt. Chief Executive Debbie Lascelles said the Council had faced some of the toughest financial decisions in recent years. 'With cost-of-living pressures and the largest reform programme in decades underway, we needed a plan that ensured essential services could continue, while also recognising that our community simply cannot afford steep rate hikes,' she said. To help ease pressure in the short term, the Council has opted for an unbalanced budget in the first three years of the LTP. This approach allows the Council to deliver critical services and maintain assets, while beginning a pathway to financial recovery. To smooth rates and maintain service levels, a portion of operational expenditure for activities such as depreciation, IT upgrades and District Plan costs will be debt-funded in the early years. 'We know this is not sustainable in the long term, but this measure provides financial breathing room while the Council reviews operations and works towards returning to operating surpluses,' Ms Lascelles said. Over the life of the LTP, the Council plans to invest $184 million in capital projects, with the bulk (89%) targeted at core infrastructure, including three waters and roading. Much of this investment is needed to replace ageing infrastructure and meet regulatory requirements. The Council has received an adverse audit opinion due to the treatment of three waters budgets in the LTP. This reflected timing, not mismanagement, Ms Lascelles said. She stressed that the underlying financial information for the first two years of the LTP was robust and based on the best available information the Council had at the time.
Otago Daily Times
a day ago
- Business
- Otago Daily Times
Selwyn Mayor Sam Broughton: 'We are not spending recklessly'
Mayor Sam Broughton has gone on the front foot over rates increases, saying the Selwyn District Council is not spending recklessly. A 14.2% average rates rise took effect yesterday and follows a 14.9% rise last year. The increases have been met with a barrage of criticism from ratepayers, who are also facing a 25% jump in the amount they pay for water use. There have been many letters to Selwyn Times , social media posts have been scathing and the Taxpayers' Union has also waded into the debate. Broughton, councillors and council staff have borne the brunt of the criticism. Many have said Broughton and councillors will face the wrath of ratepayers at the local body elections in October. Broughton is seeking his fourth term as mayor. Yesterday, the council issued a statement to news media in which Broughton explained the increases. 'Every rate increase is challenging, and I understand the pressure that puts on households,' he said. 'But we're not spending recklessly, we're investing in what our community has told us matters: Fixing roads and maintaining our water and wastewater supplies.' Broughton was referring to the 1500 submissions received in the Long Term Plan process a year ago, which forecasts the council's projects until 2034. It forecast rates would increase 42% between last financial year and 2026–27. The council came under criticism over not consulting with the public for the Annual Plan which rubber stamped this year's 14.2% rates increase. Broughton said another consultation would have been a waste of money. 'Repeating the consultation less than 12 months later would waste time and money when people have already told us to get on with it. 'The message was clear: Focus on roads, water, and waste. So that's exactly where over 80% of this capital budget has gone.' In the council's 2025–26 Annual Plan, which was signed off in a close 5-3 vote, more than 80% of its $145.8m capital budget has been allocated to roads, water, and wastewater services. Broughton's rival for the mayoralty, Malvern Ward councillor Lydia Gliddon, voted against the Annual Plan due to the lack of consultation and no chance for councillors to review spending in it. However, Gliddon did vote with other councillors for the LTP last year which put in train the big rates hikes. Gliddon agreed with the strong focus on infrastructure, but believed there could have been cost savings in some of the council's five strategies, which are budgeted to cost $1.53m and focus on economic development, youth, ageing people, bicultural, and biodiversity. 'Do we need to actually be spending that amount? 'We didn't get a chance to look at that and work out the nuts and bolts of that, and go, actually, it doesn't need to be that much,' Gliddon said. Broughton has also stood his ground to set up a new company to manage water and wastewater in the district, despite 86.1% of 423 submissions not in support of the new company. 'This is about long-term affordability. While we appreciate all feedback, less than 1% of residents submitted to the consultation, which suggests the majority are comfortable with the approach,' he said. Councillors voted 6-5 in favour of setting up the new company. Gliddon, who voted against the new company, said Broughton's comments showed he was 'out of touch' with the community. 'I don't think you can assume that much. People have taken time out of their day to tell you what they think. We've asked them. You need to listen to what they say,' she said. While about 70% of councils have opted to establish council-controlled organisations to manage water, Selwyn was one of three councils to not form a joint CCO with anyone else.
Daily Telegraph
3 days ago
- Business
- Daily Telegraph
LTR Pharma completes ED study milestone
Don't miss out on the headlines from Stockhead. Followed categories will be added to My News. LTR Pharma & co-development partner Aptar Pharma complete extractables study on SPONTAN All identified compounds below ICH safety thresholds for nasal spray-mist erectile dysfunction treatment Leachables study initiated to support FDA regulatory submission under real-world storage conditions Special Report: LTR Pharma has completed a key extractables study for its SPONTAN intranasal spray for erectile dysfunction and kicked off a leachables study as part of a regulatory development program. LTR Pharma (ASX:LTP) said the extractables study, conducted under the supervision of co-development partner Aptar Pharma, evaluated the bottle and pump components of SPONTAN's container closure system. The study confirmed that all detected compounds were below ICH safety thresholds – the internationally recognised standards adopted by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and regulatory authorities worldwide for pharmaceutical impurities. LTR Pharma said the identified compounds would be monitored in the ongoing leachables study. FDA requires extractables and leachables (E&L) studies for all pharmaceutical products to ensure packaging materials do not compromise product safety or efficacy. For nasal spray products, these studies must meet specific regulatory thresholds due to direct tissue exposure. Leachables study now underway The leachables study has started under Aptar Pharma's management, evaluating the potential migration of the compounds from packaging into SPONTAN under real-world storage conditions. LTR Pharma said SPONTAN used industry-standard bottle and pump components as used in multiple FDA-approved nasal spray products. The study will run for at least 24 months to support shelf-life requirements. Consistent with FDA practice for nasal sprays, the company can submit its application once sufficient robust data is available, with study completion continuing post-approval as standard. E&L studies form part of LTR Pharma's comprehensive regulatory strategy following its FDA pre-IND meeting, where the FDA confirmed the proposed development pathway. The company said E&L data were required for the chemistry, manufacturing and controls (CMC) section of its planned new drug application (NDA). With extractables results meeting regulatory requirements, the company progresses to the leachables phase for comprehensive regulatory submission data. Watch: LTR's new appointment Progress on SPONTAN and new US-targeted ROXUS LTR Pharma continues to progress SPONTAN through established regulatory pathways while building commercial foundations through its Australian early access programs. It is also progressing its new ED nasal spray called ROXUS, which offers a fast-track pathway to serve patients through the US personalised healthcare sector. As with SPONTAN, ROXUS is based on the common active ingredient vardenafil. It will be delivered via the 503(a)-compounding pharmacy pathway, which exempts drugs from the usual approval, labelling and manufacturing requirements. "The completion of our extractables study and commencement of the leachables phase keep our regulatory program on schedule,' LTR Pharma executive chairman Lee Rodne said. 'Working with Aptar Pharma provides us with their established expertise in nasal spray device development and FDA submissions. 'These studies are necessary steps in our development pathway, and we look forward to progressing through each regulatory milestone." This article was developed in collaboration with LTR Pharma, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing. This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions. Originally published as LTR Pharma completes study milestone for SPONTAN ED treatment
Scoop
3 days ago
- Business
- Scoop
Council Adopts Annual Plan Budget
Marlborough District Councillors adopted the Council's annual plan budget for 2025/26 today, with an average rates increase of 8.61%. Mayor Nadine Taylor thanked Council staff for their work to bring rates down from the Long Term Plan forecast of 10.62%. 'Council's core spending remains strongly focussed on providing infrastructure, including roading, flood protection, waste management, water supply and community facilities. 'The increase is made up of a number of elements outside Council's control - depreciation at 3.23% and local government inflationary adjustments at 3.3%*, which add up to 6.53%. We are also still paying for the Covid Rates Relief fund applied during the pandemic to help ratepayers, the cost of which is spread over three years, with an impact of 1.5% per year.' 'Roading and footpaths are the biggest item of Council capital expenditure with $64M allocated this year for improvements and renewals. Included in this figure is $29M to repair and rebuild the storm damaged Sounds roading network, on which work continues at pace. It's especially pleasing that the Sounds roading repairs are ahead of schedule and under budget.' 'Thirty one million dollars is allocated to three waters infrastructure, with $16M going towards flood protection and community facilites.' She said the annual plan included $6.5M for building flood protection works in Spring Creek and at Conders Bend, Renwick, provided through the Government's Kānoa Regional Infrastructure Fund. 'As we experienced again in the past few days, our stop bank network is critical to the safety of the communities who live beside the Wairau River. I want to assure everyone that the budget is in place for the necessary stop bank rebuilds and repairs.' 'Council's capital expenditure budget for this year has increased to $119M, including the Sounds roads recovery. As a result, projected debt is $154M at the end of June 2026, as opposed to $190M forecast in Council's Long Term Plan (LTP) last year.' 'I'd like to thank the 89 people and organisations who made the effort to give us their feedback via the new streamlined engagement process. Your ideas covered many topics including community facilities, parks and open spaces, regional development, animal control and roads.' 'Councillors referred some ideas to the Long Term Plan Working Group for further consideration and confirmed a $40k annual museum operating grant to the Marlborough Historical Society.' A record of the councillors' public feedback discussion can be found in the Economic, Finance and Community Committee minutes of 18 March 2025 on Council's website. Public consultation also recently took place on charges for the Bluegums landfill and the consequential impact on charges at transfer stations. An average increase of 17.82% will be applied to fees at the Blenheim landfill and transfer station, meaning the average trailer load of waste will cost an extra $5.92 to dispose of. Councillors received the draft annual plan budget at its 8 May 2025 meeting and supported three small levels of service requests for the 2025-26 financial year, including replacing the air conditioning system at the Marlborough Events Centre. Councillors declined requests to fund a part time Welcoming Communities Coordinator role and a full time librarian position to cover the loss of 1.5 FTE fixed term positions. The Marlborough Library in Blenheim will therefore reduce its opening hours by five a week, closing at 5pm rather than 6pm on week days. Weekend opening hours will remain the same. Note: The BERL Local Government Cost Index (LGCI) is a measure of the change in costs for goods and services purchased by local government in New Zealand, similar to the Consumer Price Index. BERL (Business and Economic Research Limited) provides this index to councils, which is used to forecast price and cost movements, including for major expenditure items like bitumen and water pipes.
Scoop
25-06-2025
- Business
- Scoop
Masterton District Council Adopts 2025/26 Annual Plan
Masterton District Council has formally adopted its 2025/26 Annual Plan, setting out a clear path for delivering key projects and services in the second year of its 2024–34 Long-Term Plan (LTP), Tō Wahi, Tō Mahere – Your Place, Your Plan. The plan outlines a range of initiatives that will benefit the Masterton community, including progress on major infrastructure and community facility upgrades. These include the redevelopment of the Masterton Library and Archive, the demolition and future rebuild of the Town Hall, and the new animal shelter on Ngaumutawa Road which will provide improved facilities for animal welfare and is on track for completion later this year. Mayor Gary Caffell says the adoption of the plan is a significant milestone. "I'm really pleased to see this plan adopted. It reflects the priorities our community told us matter most – getting the basics right, investing in our future, and making Masterton a great place to live." The plan prioritises core infrastructure with more than $25 million allocated for roading maintenance and renewals, $12 million for water services operations and capital projects, and $10.8 million for wastewater operations, capital and debt repayment. "Our focus remains on the fundamentals of roads and waters – getting the basics right," says Mayor Caffell. "We are on track to deliver what we agreed as part of the LTP with some minor variations, and people will begin to see progress on the ground with these major projects in the coming months." The plan also confirms Council's continued work on water resilience, including the installation of water meters and the development of a regional Water Services Delivery Plan in partnership with neighbouring councils. To support the delivery of these projects and respond to rising costs, the plan includes an average rates increase of 7.5% across the district. However, this varies by property type, with the average urban property seeing an increase of 5.5%, while rural properties will experience a higher average increase of 13.6%, largely due to increased investment in roading infrastructure. The rates increase reflects ongoing financial pressures, including the lasting impact of Cyclone Gabrielle recovery costs. "We are nearing the end of the recovery process for Cyclone Gabrielle. Despite central government assistance, this has still been a significant financial burden for council," says Mayor Caffell. "We know any rates increase is challenging, especially in the current economic climate. Council has worked hard to keep costs down while still delivering the services and infrastructure our community needs. This plan strikes that balance." Implementation of the Annual Plan begins on 1 July, with major project milestones expected to become visible throughout the year as construction and development work progresses. The full 2025/26 Annual Plan is available on the Council's website at
