Council calls for feedback on Annual Plan

Central Hawke’s Bay District Council today adopted its draft Annual Plan 2023-24 and is seeking feedback from the community.

The draft Plan proposes an average districtwide rates increase of 10.88% which impacts urban and rural properties slightly differently. Inflationary and recovery costs on drinking water, waste water and stormwater networks add approximately $340 per urban household, while recovery costs on road networks add the weight of rural rate increases via the land transport rate which is set through land value. This results in average rural increases between 7 and 13% depending on the size and value of the property.

Josh Lloyd, Central Hawke’s Bay District Council Acting Chief Executive, says that the recovery from Cyclone Gabrielle has fundamentally changed the way Council approached its Annual Plan this year.

Mr Lloyd says “We recognise that Cyclone Gabrielle delivered huge, new challenges on top of the cost of living burden many ratepayers are experiencing. The average 10.88% rates increase proposed in our draft Annual Plan, while still higher than that projected in our Long Term Plan 2021-31, is lower than it could have been due to our use of tools such as debt funding, reserve funding, and the slowing of capital projects.”

Central Hawke’s Bay Mayor Alex Walker says that Council has worked to capture the post-cyclone priorities of the district, aiming to balance risk against its responsibilities to the community.

“Community recovery conversations right across the district clearly articulated priorities in roading and stormwater resilience to get us through the coming year. We have aimed for an Annual Plan that is as realistic as possible to directly invest in those priorities, while also considering the longer-term impacts of decisions we make now. We have a responsibility to take action and provide some local share to the investment, while still working closely with central government on other funding sources. This is an incredibly challenging place to be in, when there are so many uncertainties on additional funding in particular,” says Mayor Walker.

Council is now seeking community feedback on decisions related to four key areas of focus:

·      Repairing our roads
·      Reassessing our capital investment programme
·      Delaying wheelie bins
·      Funding critical replacement work for the Centralines Pool complex

Detailed information on each focus area is available in Council's draft Annual Plan 2023-24.

People can give feedback through Council's online survey or by filling in and returning a consultation form at the main Council building in Ruataniwha St, Waipawa; Waipawa Library, or The Knowledge and Learning Hub - Te Huinga Wai in Waipukurau. People can also email rates@chbdc.govt.nz or call Council on 06 857 8060.

The survey will be open for two weeks until 2 June 2023, a shorter engagement period than usual due to change in legislation for Councils affected by Cyclone Gabrielle.

19 May 2023

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