The major project for the year was the adoption of Council’s Long Term Plan (the 10 year plan and budget) said Mayor Dan Gordon.

“The last few years have been tough ones for our community as we economically recover from the after-effects of Covid-19. This was front of mind when we drafted our 10-year plan and the financial impact on residents was front-of-mind when we put together our work programme.

“Being conscious of this impact, we re-jigged our programme and deferred projects to ensure we had the lowest rates increase in Canterbury once again.

“What’s important though, is that we achieved this without lowering the level of investment and development we put back into the community – all the things that makes Waimakariri a great place to live.”

Major projects in the Long Term Plan include:

• Funding flood resilience and improvements
• Plans for Rangiora Eastern Link Road and Skew Bridge
• Building the right community facilities at the right time
• An extension to the Trevor Inch Memorial Rangiora Library
• Plans to prioritise the natural environment

In the last year, the Council retained the 86% overall satisfaction rate from residents through the Customer Satisfaction Survey, maintained our AA long-term (negative outlook) and A-1+ short-term credit rating from Standard and Poor’s, and met 68% of our overall performance measures (1% higher than 2023). Another 8% were noted as being almost met (achieved to within 5% of the target).

“We are delivering on what we said we would do,” says Mayor Dan. “But we’re also making waves nationally.

“I was proud to see Three Waters Reform would be replaced with a policy that aligned with the one campaigned from by Communities 4 Local Democracy (C4LD), as well as a commitment to the Woodend Bypass being built by NZ Transport Agency. Both topics the Council has actively been lobbying for in recent years.”

Speaking to the Annual Report Acting General Manager of Finance and Business Support Greg Bell noted the Council’s accounts showed a net surplus for the year of $50m, compared to a budgeted surplus of $25.9m.

A net surplus is non-cash revenue, and is due to assets (such as playgrounds, roads, infrastructure) being vested to the Council as the district grows through development and population growth.

Revenue, excluding vested assets of $60m, for the year was $145m, and equal to what was budgeted. Variances were subsidies and grants being $4.1m below budget from the NZ Transport Agency Transport Choices Budget, and interest revenue being $3.2m above budget.

Expenditure for the year was $156m, which is $18.9m above budget. Net assets were valued at $2,626m, which is $333m higher than 2023 due to the surplus and revaluation of infrastructure assets.

Council's financials are audited annually by Audit NZ and Credit rating agency Standard and Poor's has recently reconfirmed its AA long-term and A-1+ short-term credit rating with a negative outlook for the Council.

For comparison, New Zealand retail banks ANZ and BNZ both have a Standard & Poor's Rating of AA-.

“Our Council is a financially prudent one and our finances show this. We’ve had the lowest rates increases in the Greater Christchurch area for many years now and shown restraint throughout Covid-19 and in the years since, and we’ve achieved this by considering the impact on the community first and foremost,” says Mayor Gordon.

“The Annual Report shows that despite trying times, the Council continues to put the community first without sacrificing services delivery. We’ve done this without compromising our position as a high-growth Council, and our residents are consistently happy with the services the Council offers.”