Plan: have your say

It’s Long-Term Plan time again at Waikato Regional Council. The LTP review happens every three years, falling within the second year of the council term. It sounds boring, but it’s an important planning document, which impacts us all.

It forecasts council’s budgets for the coming 10 years, with in-depth focus on the first three. The Annual Plan, reviewed every 12 months, is based on the LTP, with some small room for variance.

Clyde Graf

As is always the case with bureaucracies, budgets increase, year on year. The Waikato Regional Council’s rates are forecast to increase from $130 million to $178 million by 2034. That money is collected from all ratepayers via various mechanisms and rating models – mostly through General Rates and Targeted Rates – with the intention of limiting annual increases to 10 per cent. Fingers and toes crossed on that one.

There are several issues council is focusing on in this LTP and councillors hope to receive feedback from the public, including from you.

The council is planning to streamline the rating of public transport, effectively removing the requirement of local councils to collect the funds on regional council’s behalf. This shift in the rates collection is offset by the cessation of public transport rates collected by your district or city council.

Another planned change is the disestablishment of the Regional Development Fund, which was created during the 2015-2025 Long Term Plan, to provide funding to regionally significant projects.

The funding of Te Waka, a regional development agency, has been another contentious issue. In a controversial decision, determined again behind closed doors and avoiding the scrutiny of the public eye, Council voted (8-6) for continuing the funding of Te Waka, at a sum of $750,000 a year, for the next 3 years. The funding will come from remaining money within the Regional Development Fund, instead of being returned to ratepayers.

Te Huia Outside

Te Huia

Other areas of focus are the Te Huia train service, and a change to the permitted activity monitoring rating model. The heavily subsidised Te Huia service is supposed to operate as a trial until 2026. A decision on central government funding is expected soon. If government doesn’t back it, should you?

An increase in the Natural Heritage rate is the third main issue to be considered. The most recent State of the Environment Report identified many gaps in biodiversity management. Council is considering options to increasing the rate of $5.80 per property to either $8.68 or $15, with the latter effectively increasing the fund by an additional $1.403 million.

So, it’s your feedback we’re keen to hear and need to hear. Are the proposed increases reasonable or way out of line? Is it a small price to pay for better focus on biodiversity, or will it mean money down the drain? Should regional development money be returned to ratepayers, or given to Te Waka?

There are LTP community engagement opportunities in March and April.

Hakarimata Ranges

 

 

More Recent News

Scouts make waves

The winter cobwebs have been well and truly blown away. Scout cutters, kayaks and sunbursts took to Lake Rotoroa for the first official boating event of the organisation’s 2025/26 season with the 49th Alistair Kerr…

Money still unpaid

The resource consent application for a waste to energy plant in Te Awamutu remains suspended, a month after the applicant told The News its outstanding bill would be settled. The Environmental Protection Authority suspended processing…

Marae – like village halls

Tamahere residents have been given a different take on why they should support the retention of Waikato District Council’s Māori wards. Ngāruawāhia based Tilly Turner will be returned unopposed to the council’s Tai Runga Māori…

O’Regan does it again

Waipā district mayoral candidates were governed by a red squeaky toy at a meeting last Thursday. And for the second time in a row, sitting mayor Susan O’Regan topped an informal poll. Te Awamutu Business…