\u201cWe\u2019re increasing revenue from non-rate sources and tightening cost controls, so we spend less than planned,\u201d Macindoe said.<\/p>\n
The current level of service would be retained, despite the cuts.<\/p>\n
He rejected suggestions the approach pushed costs into the future.<\/p>\n
\u201cStaying disciplined will help mitigate the effects of external pressures that can\u2019t always be predicted.\u201d<\/p>\n
Macindoe acknowledged infrastructure costs and debt remained ongoing challenges, saying larger decisions about growth and investment priorities would come during the next Long-Term Plan.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere will be some hard decisions ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hamilton City Council\u2019s chief financial officer, Gary Connolly, said the lower increase reflected a stronger financial position built over recent years.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe draft Annual Plan reflects disciplined budgeting and steadily improved performance over the past three years,\u201d Connolly said.<\/p>\n
He said the council was no longer borrowing to fund day-to-day operating costs, which reduced exposure to interest rate changes and strengthened long-term resilience.<\/p>\n
\u201cBy not using debt for operating expenditure, we\u2019re not passing today\u2019s costs on to future ratepayers.\u201d<\/p>\n
Connolly said lower-than-forecast opening debt had helped reduce financing costs, while efficiency gains allowed the council to maintain existing service levels without extra spending.<\/p>\n
He also defended changes to depreciation funding for stormwater infrastructure, saying they reflected the long lifespan of those assets rather than any attempt to defer costs.<\/p>\n
\u201cDepreciation has been adjusted for stormwater assets with very long lifespans, where there is no cash funding requirement in the foreseeable future.\u201d<\/p>\n
Connolly said the issue would be reviewed again through the Long-Term Plan 2027-2037 as the council reassessed how it funds asset renewals.<\/p>\n
\u201cOverall, this balances financial sustainability, service continuity and fairness for ratepayers, while protecting future budgets from undue risk.\u201d<\/p>\n
Macindoe said early feedback from residents had been positive, particularly around the lower rates increase and the planned return of two hours\u2019 free parking in the CBD.<\/p>\n
Looking ahead, he said success would mean keeping rates manageable while maintaining the services expected of a growing metro city.<\/p>\n
Tom Eley is a multimedia journalist at the Waikato Herald. Before he joined the Hamilton-based team, he worked for the Weekend Sun and Sunlive. He previously worked as a journalist at Black Press Media in Canada and won a fellowship with the Vancouver Sun.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cWe\u2019re increasing revenue from non-rate sources and tightening cost controls, so we spend less than planned,\u201d Macindoe said.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":381978,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[74,1863,138,5205,1872,5616,6288,24826,29012,48949,7494,111,139,69,7676,25278,8262,131,70931,1533],"class_list":{"0":"post-381977","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business","8":"tag-after","9":"tag-back","10":"tag-business","11":"tag-council","12":"tag-face","13":"tag-forecast","14":"tag-hamilton","15":"tag-hike","16":"tag-households","17":"tag-initially","18":"tag-less","19":"tag-new-zealand","20":"tag-newzealand","21":"tag-nz","22":"tag-rates","23":"tag-smaller","24":"tag-spending","25":"tag-than","26":"tag-trims","27":"tag-will"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/381977","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=381977"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/381977\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/381978"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=381977"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=381977"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=381977"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}