One is a 5.9% rate increase that the council said would keep costs more affordable now but would require borrowing to cover expenses, returning to a balanced budget the following year. <\/p>\n
The second option is a 9.1% increase, with no additional borrowing. <\/p>\n
A council spokesperson said the second option would strengthen the council\u2019s financial position sooner and reduce overall debt. <\/p>\n
The council\u2019s Long-Term Plan had forecast a rate increase of 10% and an operating deficit of $8.4 million for 2026\/27. <\/p>\n
Mayor Wendy Schollum said both options reflected the work that had gone into bringing the projected increase down. <\/p>\n
She said the reduction to a 5.9% increase was achieved through $3m of saving on operations, with buying and delivery efficiencies and higher external funding for the cyclone recovery programme. <\/p>\n
\u201cA key part has been accelerating cyclone recovery projects, particularly bridges and culverts, so we can secure higher levels of Government funding. That has reduced the pressure on ratepayers by about $48m, while ensuring we continue to rebuild critical infrastructure,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n
Cyclone recovery and infrastructure investment remain a major focus for the council. <\/p>\n
\u201cFor some, the cyclone may feel like it\u2019s behind us, but the recovery work is still very real across our district \u2013 this plan ensures we keep that momentum going.\u201d <\/p>\n
She said there was no \u201ceasy option\u201d and that was the reality councils were facing right across the country. <\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s why it\u2019s so important we hear from our community. This is about finding the right balance between keeping rates affordable, funding our continued recovery, and continuing to invest in the services and infrastructure that support our quality of life and local economy. <\/p>\n
\u201cI encourage everyone to look at the options, think about what matters most to them and their wh\u0101nau, and make a submission. Everyone\u2019s voice genuinely matters.\u201d <\/p>\n
Submissions open on March 30 and close on May 15. Hearings for those who wish to speak to their submission are scheduled to begin on June 10.<\/p>\n
LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"One is a 5.9% rate increase that the council said would keep costs more affordable now but would…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":348109,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[2246,13916,682,5432,10704,9828,5194,16774,13840,111,43,139,69,19257,25718,1436,10042,25278,8229,61,1237,6730],"class_list":["post-348108","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-zealand","tag-2246","tag-asked","tag-being","tag-between","tag-choose","tag-different","tag-hastings","tag-larger","tag-like","tag-new-zealand","tag-news","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-rate","tag-ratepayers","tag-rise","tag-rises","tag-smaller","tag-they","tag-to","tag-two","tag-would"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/348108","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=348108"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/348108\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/348109"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=348108"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=348108"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=348108"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}