Setting the budget ahead of public consultation is an integral part of drafting the Draft Annual Plan – the one-year budget and work programme – which will be out for public comment in mid-March.

Acting General Manager of Finance and Business Support Greg Bell said that since the Council adopted the Long Term Plan last year there are tweaks that need to be made due to external factors and a desire to keep rates as low as possible.

The proposed average rates increase for the coming year has risen by 0.25% from 4.73% to 4.98%. This is close to what was signalled in the Long Term Plan and is believed to be the lowest increase in Canterbury.

Factors putting pressure on the Council’s budget for the year included:

• An additional $360,000 needed from ratepayers to cover new Commerce Commission and Taumata Arowai levies. This added 0.4% which has been absorbed.
• A reduction in road co-funding from NZTA of $13.5m
• Local Government inflation continues to run higher than CPI. The Local Government Cost Index (LGCI) is 3.4% compared to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) which is now 2.2%. Insurance premiums have also increased substantially
• Council continues to pay loans to cover Earthquake Recovery and MainPower Stadium.

In the coming year the Council will also:

• Notify the District Plan
• Settle on structures and arrangements for water in line with Local Water Done Well legislation
• Have a local government election cycle
• Manage significant projects to a value of $62m
• Renew major contracts for things such as road and parks maintenance
• Continue to provide services for the District which continues to grow well above Stats NZ high growth forecasts. This puts pressure on Council services.

Mayor Dan Gordon thanked staff for their focus on cost-efficiency, value for money, and core services.

“This is likely to be the lowest, or one of the lowest, rates increase in Canterbury. I’d like to thank staff for their work in getting the increase this low during a tough environment where a lot of costs are outside of our control.

“We are committed to delivering on what we said we would through the LTP and are continually exploring opportunities to achieve greater value for money while providing the services that our community want.”

Chief Executive Officer Jeff Millward said Councils, like households, have been struggling with inflation and it was a challenge to balance the books with expenditure.

“We are a growth Council, and generally growth Councils can’t meet CPI. CPI for councils is not a reality, we run to Local Government Cost Index (LGCI) and it’s impossible for us to meet that because we purchase an entirely different basket of goods.”

“You will hear a lot in the media about rate increases being too high but it’s important to put this in proper context. To get this down to under 5% I personally think that’s a really good effort.”

Topics to be consulted on during the Draft Annual Plan will include:

• Delivery of Water Services
• Revised Roading programme
• Changes to our rates policy
• Development contributions
• A wider explanation about factors behind this years proposed rates increase.

The Draft Annual Plan will be out for public feedback between 14 March to 14 April and Council welcomes submissions.