Latest news with #Long-TermPlan
Scoop
a day ago
- Business
- Scoop
Wellington City Sets Course: Annual Plan And Amended Long-Term Plan Adopted
Investment for the year ahead has been set with the adoption of Wellington City Council's 2025-26 Annual Plan and an amendment to the 2024-34 Long-term Plan. 'This is a significant moment for Wellington City Council. After needing to amend our Long-Term Plan last year, we've collectively proven our ability to find significant savings and still deliver essential services and infrastructure over the next decade,' says Mayor Tory Whanau. 'We can now move forward with the projects Wellington wanted, while also investing in much-needed infrastructure and setting up our city for future generations.' Councillor Rebecca Matthews, Chair of the Council's Kōrau Tōtōpū Long-Term Plan, Finance, and Performance Committee, says funding has been allocated to enhance public spaces, upgrade social housing, support vulnerable communities, foster arts, promote green initiatives including biodiversity, and address city safety. 'We've identified significant savings without compromising the quality of services the community relies on or delaying critical infrastructure projects.' The Council yesterday officially approved and accepted the plan and amendment, which was put out for public consultation between March and April. The 2025/26 Annual Plan and associated budget includes an average rates increase of 12 percent, including 1.4 percent for the sludge levy. This is slightly below the forecast for the year in the 2024-34 Long-term Plan. In total, the Council proposes to collect $628 million in rates during the 2025/26 year to fund services across the city. The Council is also creating a disaster resilience fund by selling some ground leases. This fund is designed to enhance Wellington's ability to recover from future disasters by providing a dedicated financial resource. Thursday's adoption was the final stage in the process of amending the 2024-34 Long-term Plan and 2025/26 Annual Plan and their respective budgets. The adoption is a requirement to implement rates for the 2025/26 year. The Council plans to invest close to $3.4 billion of capital expenditure in improving Pōneke over the next 10 years and nearly $9 billion towards running city services. The 2024-34 Long-term Plan was amended to reflect an October 2024 Council decision not to sell its shares in Wellington International Airport Limited. The amendment sought an alternative approach to addressing the key financial risks of underinsurance and lack of investment diversification. To manage the risks, the Council is increasing its borrowing capacity by reducing capital spending and creating a disaster resilience fund for use in emergency situations. Following the adoption of the Annual Plan, changes to fees and user charges have also been implemented. The Council approved the introduction of a $1-an-hour fee for the use of central city motorcycle bays, with a daily cap of $6, with the charge implemented on weekdays between 8am and exact date for implementation is yet to be confirmed. Most fees and user charges will increase, effective 1 July. There are several variables that impact on how fees and charges are set. These vary from activity to activity, and can relate to inflation, rising costs, market rates, policy alignment or the provision of new services.
NZ Herald
2 days ago
- Business
- NZ Herald
Horizons Regional Council confirms 8.8% rates increase for 2025-26
Horizons Regional Council has adopted its annual plan, signalling an average rates increase of 8.8%, which is lower than originally forecast. The plan was adopted at a council meeting in Tararua on June 24. The average rates increase of 8.8% is lower than what was in the 2024-34 Long-Term Plan
Scoop
3 days ago
- Business
- Scoop
Environment Canterbury Adopts Annual Plan 2025/26 After Strong Public Feedback
Canterbury Regional Council (Environment Canterbury) has today officially adopted its Annual Plan for 2025/26, following a robust public consultation process and strategic council deliberations that reflected the voices of communities across the region. The plan sets out the council's priorities and budget for the coming financial year, with a sharpened focus on public transport, resource consent fees, and community support. The plan also acts as a bridge between the council's Long-Term Plan and the evolving needs of the Waitaha/Canterbury region, with a continued focus on environmental regulation and protection, community preparedness and response to hazards and public transport. A total of 744 submissions were received during the consultation period from 28 February to 3 April, with particularly strong engagement from residents in Selwyn and Christchurch. Smarter spending, lower rates One of the most significant outcomes is a reduced average total rates increase of approximately 5.8% — a notable drop from the 9.9% proposed during consultation and well below the 15.5% forecast in Year 2 of the Long-Term Plan 2024-34. This reduction was achieved through deferring certain public transport projects and identifying broader organisational savings. Key decisions from May deliberations Public Transport: The proposed Darfield to Rolleston bus trial will not proceed. Instead, enhancements will be made to Route 85 (Rolleston to City direct) and Route 86 (Darfield to City direct), subject to fleet availability. Community support: Increased funding for community vehicle trusts was approved, alongside the development of a strategic framework to guide future public transport requests outside the Greater Christchurch and Timaru networks. Fees and Charges: Updates to resource consent fees were confirmed, with a new Fees and Charges Schedule coming into effect on 1 July 2025. Community voices at the heart Canterbury Regional Council Chair Craig Pauling said he was pleased the Council had adopted the Plan, which was informed by valuable community feedback. 'We appreciate everyone who took the time to provide us with their feedback and experiences during the drafting process for this Plan. 'Many of the final decisions that we made were informed by community feedback which is something that my Councillors and I are proud of. 'We feel that we have landed in a good place for the region and are looking forward to supporting our staff to deliver the Plan over the next twelve months.'
Scoop
3 days ago
- Business
- Scoop
Otago Regional Council Adopts Annual Plan – 5.5% Rates Increase
Delivering value for money was key in Otago Regional Council decision-making for the council's work in the year ahead. Councillors today adopted the Annual Plan 2025-26 which will see ORC rates increase 5.5% overall in the year ahead - a significant drop from the 13.8% originally forecast in the Long-Term Plan. ORC Chairperson Gretchen Robertson says contributing to the less than forecast rates increase were cuts to some planned public transport upgrades, reprioritisation of environmental implementation funding, reduced inflation costs and work to gain efficiencies. The annual plan focused on finding efficiencies in the work programme while continuing the council's vital work that underpins resilient and well supported communities. 'Port Otago's dividend has been increased $2 million which benefits all ratepayers, as it helps to offset costs that would otherwise need to be paid by rates. 'Also benefitting ratepayers, $2 million of Council reserves will be used to pay for the first year of a new environmental fund,' Cr Robertson says. 'Alongside our core responsibilities, key changes in the year ahead include some targeted upgrades to public transport, increased environmental funding, and further work on natural hazards and engineering. 'A rates increase is still required to help fund this work. This includes the investment in climate change and biodiversity strategies, as well as rising costs in areas like insurance, depreciation, and property rentals.' Cr Robertson says, 'Improving bus services remains a priority. Queenstown will see upgrades with Government co-funding, but planned improvements for Dunedin did not receive funding, so current services will remain unchanged there. Fare changes are also planned. A business case to assess Wanaka public transport options attracted strong public support and will go ahead. Some regional upgrades will not happen due to co-funding gaps, but we're committed to finding ways to improve connectivity options for Ōamaru, Balclutha and Central Otago.' Large scale environmental work will get an extra boost in the 2025-26 year with a new $2 million a year large-scale environmental fund; from Council reserves in the first year. 'This fund invests in large, community-led initiatives that deliver enduring environmental outcomes and excellent value for money,' says Cr Robertson. Planned work in the year ahead includes investigations looking at hazards in Middlemarch and for Lindsay Creek (North Dunedin), resilience work for the Kaikorai Stream near Green Island, and river mouth monitoring technology installation in key areas. The overall rates increase for 2025/26 is 5.5% but the rates impact for individual properties is different and can be influenced by a range of things including location and the services provided. Less than half of ORC's funding comes from rates — the rest is from fees and charges, grants, reserves, dividends from Port Otago and investment income. Rates examples for median value residential properties
Scoop
12-06-2025
- Business
- Scoop
Tasman Goes In-House For Local Water Done Well Implementation
Tasman's future management of drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater services has taken a step forward, with Tasman District Council unanimously opting for an in-house business unit structure to implement requirements of the Government's Local Water Done Well programme. This unit would be managed separately from other Council operations in a ringfenced capacity. While still part of the Council, it would be independently monitored to ensure high environmental and customer standards, as set by Taumata Arowai. The Council has also agreed in principle to establish an internal advisory committee with the option of external members to help provide operational oversight of three waters activities and provide advice to the Council. A report will be provided to the Council that includes options for membership, terms of reference and associated costs. Further to this, the Mayor and Councillors have expressed a desire for staff to continue discussions with other councils regarding options for greater alignment of services, information and procurement to increase efficiency savings across the Council's water, wastewater and stormwater functions. Local Water Done Well is intended to ensure people pay cost-reflective prices for water services, that those services are delivered to an acceptable quality, and that water services providers are investing sufficiently in infrastructure. The Council was obliged to consider and consult on new water service delivery options as part of the LWDW programme. On 27 March 2025, the Council confirmed public consultation on three options for future governance and management of Water, Wastewater and Stormwater. We received 16 submissions during the public consultation period between 22 April - 23 May 2025 Two options involving setting up a Water Council Controlled Organisation (CCO), each governed by an independent board, were also considered alongside the in-house proposal. Other governance options – such as trust models like those used in the electricity sector – have been considered by Council but are not being pursued. In the short to medium term, all options deliver similar financial outcomes. The structure and scope of the new business unit is yet to be finalized. However, it was acknowledged that an in-house unit operating within its agreed parameters allowed better opportunities for community involvement, as opposed to a CCO. The next steps in the process require a Water Service Delivery Plan to be completed and submitted to Department of Internal Affairs by 3 September, 2025. The WSDP will then be shared with the Commerce Commission, with a view towards the Water Service Delivery Plan being approved and ready for implementation by November 2025. It is intended that the internal business unit will formally function from 1 July 2027 to align with the next Long-Term Plan in 2027/2037.
