The Three Year Plan has been formally adopted after Council heard from submitters and deliberated on submissions from the community last month. It outlines the focused investment of time and money that we will make to deliver for the future of Central Hawke’s Bay.
The feedback from the community was clear, if we are going to ask so much from our ratepayers, then we must continue to be ruthlessly focused on the agreed priorities and efficient delivery.
We received 286 submissions on the options and trade-offs that community could make in order to set the budget for the next three years. Many of them reinforced that the areas of focus for the Three Year Plan need to be:
• Land Transport
• Stormwater, drinking water and wastewater
• Resilience for the future
The Three Year Plan shows us what we need to do, but it also highlights what we will not be doing. We must not lose sight of the cost-cutting and trade-offs we have made, including:
• $1.5 million of operational savings
• Deferral of all significant parks and community facilities capital programmes
• Closure of Waipawa and Takapau Transfer Stations.
Thank you for your submission – your voice was heard. We can all be confident that the Three Year Plan reflects what the community wanted to prioritise.
We are determined to continue to deliver the basics well, look after what we’ve got, and deliver on this Three Year Plan. We remain committed to Project Thrive’s strategic vision for great community-led outcomes. The adoption of this plan gives us the certainty we need to now get on with it.
Where have we landed?
Council proposed three budget options that explored a lower, central and higher rating impact across four trade-off investment and service areas of: land transport, drinking water and wastewater, prioritising stormwater following Cyclone Gabrielle, and other service reductions and efficiencies.
Council adopted the Three Year Plan on 13 June 2024, with the Central Option remaining Councils preferred option with a number of small changes. The overall average rating impact is 20.9%.
Below are the decisions that were made in relation to the four trade-off areas and other consultation matters.
Trade-off #1 Sorting Land Transport
Council proposed three options – a lower, central and higher for land transport.
Of those three options the central option was the preferred option as it provided for ongoing increases in the Land Transport activity over a three year period and beyond, to begin to address the growing backlog of historic maintenance.
This option included:
- 21% increases to base budgets to keep up with major inflation that reduces our buying power
- Increasing resealing budget to achieve at least 7% of the network being sealed
- Increases in drainage maintenance across rural road
- An assumption that Council will only need to provide a 5% contribution to roading recovery costs ($2m pa)
- Incremental increases to gravel road metalling
Creation of a new budget to proactively replace retaining walls and other structures over three years
While an increase overall, this option still required reductions in a number of Land Transport activities in the short term including:
- Halving the low-cost low-risk safety programme by $500k in the first year and reinstating this over three years
- No new footpaths or seal extensions for dust
What was decided?
We heard strongly from the community, through the submission process, that we need to focus on core infrastructure.
Council confirmed the higher option for land transport which includes the increases in the Central Option and a one-off boost of $500k in funding ($205k in rates) for extra road metalling and resealing.
Trade-off #2 – Drinking Water and Wastewater Investment
Council proposed three options - a lower, central and higher for drinking water and wastewater investment. Of those three options the central option was the preferred option as this option provided for critical investment in our drinking water services continuing, and already includes our wastewater programme being deferred until reviews of Cyclone Gabrielle’s impacts are complete. This option included:
- The Waipukurau Second Supply project will continue to be prioritised over four years, to provide water source resilience and a 3million litre increase in drinking water storage capacity
- Work on the Takapau, Waipawa and Pōrangahau/Te Paerahi wastewater plants will pause for three years, until reviews of Cyclone Gabrielle’s impacts are complete
- The two, over 100-year-old, drinking water reservoirs in Waipawa will be replaced
- A new DAF (Dissolved Air Floatation) plant will be installed at the Waipukurau Wastewater Treatment plant to manage growth and reduce non-compliance issues in the shorter term
- Renewals across our drinking and wastewater programmes will continue as planned without reductions
- A replacement swingbridge to carry wastewater to a future plant in Waipawa is still retained in the plan, however not until Year 3 once we better understand outcomes of river reviews
What was decided?
Council confirmed its proposed approach being the central option for drinking water and wastewater investment. This approach will ensure that we continue to focus on investing in our core infrastructure, as we heard this loud and clear from the community, through the submission process.
Trade-off #3 – Prioritising Stormwater
Council proposed two options - a central and higher option for stormwater. Of the two options the central option was the preferred option as it proposed $857,000 of new stormwater investment in urban areas of the Three Year Plan, which would be funded using external funding. The central option included:
- 2-yearly vegetation clearance on major open drain channels
- Development of an overarching strategy for how the Stormwater activity is managed in the future
- 5-yearly bed excavation to remove vegetation overgrowth and sedimentation
- Development of a hydraulic model for Takapau and updates to Waipukurau, Waipawa and Otāne models
- 10% of the piped stormwater network flushed or inspected each year
What was decided?
We heard strongly from our community, through the submission process, that we needed to invest in stormwater infrastructure so that we are more resilient in future weather events.
Council confirmed its proposed approach being the central option for stormwater investment. This confirmed approach will nearly double our investment in stormwater over the next three years, to address the most pressing recovery priorities identified during our recovery conversations.
Trade-off #4 – Service Reductions and Efficiencies
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What was decided?
Council confirmed its proposed approach being the central option for service reductions and efficiencies, with an additional change to continue with the current levels of service at the Waipawa and Waipukurau Libraries.
This means that the proposed permanent closure of the Waipawa and Takapau Transfer Stations will go ahead, and these facilities will be closing on Monday, 29 July 2024. There will also be a reduction of hours at the Pōrangahau Transfer Station.
We also heard a need to continue to focus on accountable delivery and ensuring we are receiving value from our contractors. These are existing areas of focus from Council that will continue to lean into and drive performance both within the organisation and from its suppliers.
Other Consultation Matters
Three other consultation matters deliberated on were:
1. Tukituki (Tarewa) Swing bridge:
After hearing feedback from the community, Council reaffirmed its support for the Tukituki (Tarewa) Swing bridge as an important recreational asset.
Funding is retained in the Three Year Plan, however an important consideration for Council is the significant barrier posed by the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council Upper Tukituki Scheme Review to progress the project.
Council will reassess the project’s viability following the release of the Upper Tukituki Scheme Review expected later this year and to consider whether there are opportunities to accelerate this project in its current state or consider alternative options. Overall, the need to work more collaboratively with the Rotary River Pathways Trust and Hawke’s Bay Regional Council was identified as a priority.
2. Proposal to introduce a new Pool Inspection Rate
As part of the consultation process Council asked pool owners if they supported moving the fee for swimming pools to a targeted rate.
The feedback from pool owners was that Council should continue to invoice at the point of inspection, rather than to create a new rate for this. In this instance Council chose not to introduce a targeted rate, however it did shift pool inspection fees to a 100% user pays model.
3. How we pay for growth –Development Contribution Policy Review
Through the consultation Council asked whether their was support for the changes to the Development Contribution Policy. This policy approach sought to build on the 2021 Long Term Plan, where growth should be paid for by those creating the growth costs, rather than ratepayers.
Having considered the feedback, Council confirmed the changes to the Development Contributions Policy to ensure we have a mechanism for recovering costs incurred by developers in relation to growth related infrastructure. The new policy also introduced new provisions that enable development of smaller secondary dwellings on properties, at a lower fee.
Our Reality
Having considered the conversations, submissions and feedback from community, we had to make a number of tough calls in confirming the Three Year Plan 2024-2027. We’ve worked hard to rephase programmes and reduce costs across the organisation, while making allowances for recovery and critical projects.
While we heard from community that rates affordability is our biggest challenge, Council also heard loud and clear what the key focus areas should be in relation to this Three Year Plan, which was to retain a strong focus on infrastructure, in particular on our roads and water services. We also heard strongly from the community around the need to retain the current levels of service for the Waipawa and Waipukurau Libraries as they are an essential hub for our communities.
Below is a table which shows the previous average rating requirements between 2014-2024 as well as the new average rating requirements for the next three years.
Some other things to know
Uncertainty still remains in this Three Year Plan, which will likely need further decisions made over the next three years as more information emerges. These include:
Land Transport Funding – Cyclone and Maintenance
While we’ve had some initial Government funding, we still have $129 million of roading repairs from the cyclone to fund. We’ve made an allowance in this Three Year Plan however at the time of writing, we are still awaiting confirmation from Government on what this will be. If we do not receive the funding requested, it will take over a decade to make the critical roading repairs that are required.
While we have also sought an increase to our maintenance programme funding from the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA), we expect this to be confirmed after 1 July. This means that while Council may want to fund more, NZTA funding may not be realised to the extent we have planned for in this Three Year Plan.
Impacts of Upper Tukituki River Scheme Review
As the Upper Tukituki Scheme Review is yet to be released later this year, key infrastructure projects, including our wastewater treatment plants and the Tukituki (Tarewa) Swingbridge, have been delayed until we understand the implications of this review. Consequently, the Three Year Plan Budget has been adjusted and key projects rephased until such a time as the Upper Tukituki Scheme Review is complete.
Three Waters Reform – Local Waters Done Well
As the Three Waters Programme has been repealed, this change in policy means that Three Waters remains a core Council activity in this Three Year Plan. As a consequence, the capital programme of the 2021-2031 Long Term Plan has been rephased and our attention returns to progressing the regional Hawke’s Bay Water Model. Council has prioritised progressing this with our wider regional councils as we understand the major affordability challenges created by the delivery of Three Waters activities in our district.
How can you to get involved?
In some instances, submitters put forward innovative ideas on ways to save or more efficiently use ratepayer money, which included groups like ‘Friends of the Library’ offering their voluntary services to help assist at the library. If you would like to stay involved, please email threeyearplan@chbdc.govt.nz – we welcome your ideas and help.
Rates affordability support
Support is available for those experiencing financial hardship, including extensions or personalised payment plans to help you manage your rates payments. Please contact our rates team and see if you qualify for assistance. We have rates postponement policies and there are rebates available for those who meet a certain criteria. Please visit our website to find our more or call 06 857 8060.
Want more information?
For more information on the Three Year Plan 2024-2027 please visit our website here: https://www.chbdc.govt.nz/our-council/policies-pla...
