Annual Plan 2019/2020

The Annual Plan for the 2019/20 financial year was adopted by our Council at its 25 June 2019 meeting.

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Annual Plan maintains focus on infrastructure

Read the Annual Plan 2019-2020 here(PDF, 4MB)

Our Council’s significant capital works programme will continue in the 2019/20 financial year, with $43 million earmarked for projects including upgrades to our district’s water supplies, improvements to Council roads that were previously unmaintained and upgrading or building new toilets in popular visitor areas.

At its meeting on 25 June 2019, our Council adopted the Annual Plan for the financial year, which sets out the budgets and projects for the coming financial year. There is no significant variation from what was set out for the year in the 2018-2028 Long Term Plan (LTP).

“We’re very much staying the course this coming year, continuing our focus on core services,” Mayor Sandra Goudie says. “We’re making a big investment into making sure we provide safe drinking water and well-maintained roads. We’re also leveraging external sources of funding such as the government’s Tourism Infrastructure Fund to make sure toilet and parking facilities in our visitor hotspots can cope with the growing numbers of tourists coming here,” Mayor Sandra says.

"And, don't forget, we're continuing our journey of collaborating with our coastal communities to develop shoreline management plans," Mayor Sandra says.

"In the LTP we put aside $2.6 million over last year and the coming two years to work on these plans. In the coming months we’ll be engaging with our communities, holding discussions about the various options available in different places. Expect to see more news about this soon,” Mayor Sandra says.

The $43 million capital expenditure programme for the year combined with some additional operating costs means the total rate increase has been set at 4.94 percent, up a little from the rate increase projected in the LTP of 4.13 percent.

The higher operating costs include an extra one percent of inflation that is now predicted due to the country’s economic situation and an additional $300,000 for our district’s roading maintenance contract, which was recently renewed. This year we begin a 10-year, $18 million upgrade of Council roads that were previously unmaintained, with the most-populated and least resilient roads receiving attention first.

We’re now well into our $15 million upgrade of the district’s water supplies to meet drinking water standards, with the new $2.8 million Whitianga plant already in operation and work about to begin on the new treatment plants in Pauanui and Tairua.

Public toilets in visitor hotspots such as Hahei, Onemana and Whangapoua are being upgraded, with grants from the government’s Tourism Infrastructure Fund helping meet the costs.

 

What activities does our Council manage?

This handy infographic illustrates some of the facilities and services our Council provides. Click on it to open a larger version:

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This pie chart gives a visual representation of what percentage of total Council spending goes to what activity (click on the chart to open a larger version):

 

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