Kia Ora.

There’s a lot happening at Council as we work through our next budgets and consider what they’ll look like in a rates-capped environment.

But the focus on affordability didn’t start with rates caps. Last year, we worked hard to bring a projected 11.84% rates increase down to 4.83%. Now the challenge is to get below 4% by 2029.

We’re up for that challenge, but we also need to be upfront about what it will take. To get there, some things will have to change. That could mean doing some things differently, reducing what we provide in some areas, or deciding that some services can no longer be delivered in the same way.

That doesn’t mean only cutting costs wherever we can. Council has a role in making sure our district remains a good place to live, work and do business. Finding the right balance between affordability and the services our communities value is going to be one of the biggest challenges ahead.

That challenge has also been made harder by Government’s decision to reduce our roading funding, which will cost Council around $1.3 million over the next three years.

We’re on track to rein in our budgets before 2029, but there won’t be much margin for error. That makes certainty around central government funding and the costs Council faces particularly important. Frankly, certainty hasn’t been a strength of governments of any colour in recent years. Council is regularly required to take on new costs without the funding to match them, and ultimately that cost has to be picked up locally. I want us to get much better at quantifying these impacts so our community can see clearly where those costs are coming from.

Most importantly, the choices we make need to be made with you.

That’s why we started with our Budget Challenge earlier this year, asking what matters most, where Council should invest and where we could do less. It gave us some clear direction, but it also showed that people have different views on some issues. There were also ideas and questions raised that we need to explore further rather than make assumptions about what people want.

That’s the thinking behind our second round of early engagement for the Long Term Plan. We’re asking for feedback on three areas: our libraries, our footpaths and what economic development should look like across our district.

These aren’t decisions being made behind closed doors and then presented to the community. We’re asking these questions early because the answers can help shape the thinking before we get to formal Long Term Plan consultation next year.

The financial challenge is real, but so is the opportunity to make some good decisions together about the future of our district. If we’re going to make difficult choices, it’s important we understand what our communities value most and where they’re prepared to see a different approach.

Ngā mihi nui, many thanks,

Scott Gilmore - Mayor.