A large piece of work that kicks off for Councillors this week is the Long Term Plan 2024-34.

Council staff have been working on it for several months already, looking at projects under way or future projects that will improve core infrastructure, especially our roading network. This next phase involves Councillors signalling work for the next decade and  asking the community what they think.

In the last Long Term Plan, Council committed to work aimed at increasing the resiliency of our district, and that’s important because it shapes our future and who wants to live here. There’ll be more work to consider in this Long Term Plan and, as always, Councillors must weigh up expenditure against rate rises.

We’ve heard clearly from the community that they want the district’s roading network improved and we are looking to include a big lift in the roading budget. Budgeting for a big lift in the state of our roading network is not straight forward because the condition of our roads is influenced by things out of our control, like weather (including flooding), and there are fluctuating costs of labour and materials, and Government subsidies.

We are doing our best to carry out maintenance and renewals in the most cost-effective way to meet the standards our community expects.

We continue to work on or plan future work on our drinking water, stormwater and wastewater networks – the careful decisions of past Councils means this district has good and safe community drinking water supplies and we aim to keep them that way through regular renewals, maintenance and expansion.

In this Long Term Plan we’ll also be looking at the potential to introduce an organic waste collection, water meters, plus the future of stockwater in our district and outdoor water play options.

It will be a difficult budget as New Zealanders everywhere face rising costs, whether they are buying food at the supermarket, or petrol at the gas station. We’re watching other councils grappling with the same issues and some are proposing reduced levels of services, others higher rate rises.

The usual factors are having an influence on the budget: Inflation, interest rates and Government regulation.

It is important that residents give feedback during the consultation phase, as that helps Councillors make their decisions. Your early input via our Take 10 for the Future survey has been valuable already and we’ll let you know when the final draft plan is ready for comment.

There are formal and informal ways to express your views to Councillors and this year we have been running regular Talk it Up Tuesday sessions at the public library where residents can talk to councillors. Last week Council also accepted a petition from members of the public wanting to save the Tinwald Pool and, in the public forum part of their meeting, heard the views of a man on disabled access at EA Networks Centre.

Looking back, we’ve achieved a lot in the past three years, from renovating the CBD and building a new water treatment plant at Methven, to constructing a new library and civic centre that is nearing its completion – and all that on the back of a covid pandemic.

I encourage you to take the opportunity to help shape your place again.