Our Annual Plan / Mahere ā Tau is our commitment to Cantabrians for the activities and outcomes we’re planning to deliver. The plan for 2023/24 talks about our strategy for areas including climate action, public transport, rivers and lakes, flood protection, land use, and pest plants and animals.
Feedback on the draft Annual Planwas open from late February to early April. Thanks to everyone who gave us their feedback.
We already had a strong steer from the community as we prepared the draft plan, after consultation for the Long-Term Plan 2021-31 and last year’s Annual Plan 2022/23 highlighted the need to balance affordability with action.
The draft plan was put out to the community in March/April this year. We again saw a good response, with 170 individuals and groups giving feedback, and around 40 people wishing to speak to Council at hearings in late April.
The Annual Plan / Mahere ā Tau was adopted by Council on Wednesday 21 June 2023 and will come into effect on 1 July 2023.
What we decided
We felt confident going into the Annual Plan process that we could balance affordability with action for the coming year. This means that Councillors had to make tough decisions to stick to the rates increase set down for year 3 of the Long-Term Plan 2021-31.
We can confirm that there is no change to the proposed rate revenue increase – this will stay at 10%. It’s important to remember this is the increase in total income from all the rates we collect – the actual amount each property pays will vary depending on where you live and the value of your property.
The majority of those who gave feedback earlier this year were broadly in support of the plan. However, it was made clear to us that we had to cut our cloth to fit. We have found savings in most of our portfolios of work, noting these savings might be a reduction or delay in work that doesn’timpact on our levels of service.
Other savings include increasing each zone committee budget in 2023/24 from $50k to $75k, rather than the $100k proposed in the draft Annual Plan.Water zone committees develop actions and tactics to deliver on the 10 targets of the Canterbury Water Management Strategy (CWMS) in their zone.
Staff vacancies will also deliver savings, and we will be reallocating some of the funds we were going to use to replenish the reserve fund. We will continue to find savings as we move through the year.
Affordability still a concern for submitters
We acknowledge that some submitters have again expressed concern about how they would afford to pay rates, particularly given recent cost of living increases. Finding the appropriate balance between what we need to do to build and sustain a thriving, healthy and resilient community and environment, while also keeping rates at an affordable level is a challenging task.Council and staff have looked closely at our budgets to make savings where we can, while also making sure our commitments can still be delivered on. We will continue to do this.
For more information about different types of rates, understanding your rates bill and how rates are spent, visit our rates webpage.
What’s the plan for 2023/24?
Our Annual Plan / Mahere ā Tau is our commitment to Cantabrians for the activities and outcomes we’re planning to deliver. The plan for 2023/24 talks about our strategy for areas including climate action, public transport, rivers and lakes, flood protection, land use, and pest plants and animals.
Feedback on the draft Annual Planwas open from late February to early April. Thanks to everyone who gave us their feedback.
We already had a strong steer from the community as we prepared the draft plan, after consultation for the Long-Term Plan 2021-31 and last year’s Annual Plan 2022/23 highlighted the need to balance affordability with action.
The draft plan was put out to the community in March/April this year. We again saw a good response, with 170 individuals and groups giving feedback, and around 40 people wishing to speak to Council at hearings in late April.
The Annual Plan / Mahere ā Tau was adopted by Council on Wednesday 21 June 2023 and will come into effect on 1 July 2023.
What we decided
We felt confident going into the Annual Plan process that we could balance affordability with action for the coming year. This means that Councillors had to make tough decisions to stick to the rates increase set down for year 3 of the Long-Term Plan 2021-31.
We can confirm that there is no change to the proposed rate revenue increase – this will stay at 10%. It’s important to remember this is the increase in total income from all the rates we collect – the actual amount each property pays will vary depending on where you live and the value of your property.
The majority of those who gave feedback earlier this year were broadly in support of the plan. However, it was made clear to us that we had to cut our cloth to fit. We have found savings in most of our portfolios of work, noting these savings might be a reduction or delay in work that doesn’timpact on our levels of service.
Other savings include increasing each zone committee budget in 2023/24 from $50k to $75k, rather than the $100k proposed in the draft Annual Plan.Water zone committees develop actions and tactics to deliver on the 10 targets of the Canterbury Water Management Strategy (CWMS) in their zone.
Staff vacancies will also deliver savings, and we will be reallocating some of the funds we were going to use to replenish the reserve fund. We will continue to find savings as we move through the year.
Affordability still a concern for submitters
We acknowledge that some submitters have again expressed concern about how they would afford to pay rates, particularly given recent cost of living increases. Finding the appropriate balance between what we need to do to build and sustain a thriving, healthy and resilient community and environment, while also keeping rates at an affordable level is a challenging task.Council and staff have looked closely at our budgets to make savings where we can, while also making sure our commitments can still be delivered on. We will continue to do this.
For more information about different types of rates, understanding your rates bill and how rates are spent, visit our rates webpage.
