Central Hawke's Bay District Council adopts its Annual Plan 2019/20

Central Hawke’s Bay District Council (CHBDC) adopted its Annual Plan 2019/20 today following a rigorous planning and public consultation process.  

The Annual Plan 2019/20 sets out the Council’s activities, plans and budgets for the year ahead and is produced in the years between Long Term Plans. Annual Plans give councils an opportunity to review and revise rates, budgets, projects and goals from those originally proposed in the Long Term Plan, which they then consult the public on.

Over the last ten months the Council reviewed Year 2 of the Long Term Plan 2018-28, to create the Annual Plan 2019/20.   The review included how Council will meet the current and future needs of the community for providing quality infrastructure, local public services and performance of its regulatory function, in a way that is most cost effective for households and businesses.

Following the review and setting of budgets, the Council consulted on the proposed Annual Plan with the community during March and April 2019 on four items in the Consultation Document. This included the #theevenbiggerwaterstory, the Revenue and Financing Policy amendments, the establishment of an Environmental and Sustainability Strategy and the establishment of a Disaster Relief Fund Trust. The Council received 134 submissions and heard 28 verbal presentations of submissions.

The Annual Plan 2019/20 includes a rate Increase of 4.59%, 0.55% above that proposed for Year 2 of the Long Term Plan 2018-28.

It also outlines further support for smaller community projects, including increased contributions to the Ongaonga Historical Society and funding increases to the Central Hawke’s Bay Community Trust.

Mayor of Central Hawke’s Bay, Alex Walker says: “I’m incredibly proud of the plan that Council has signed off today which is affordable, forward looking and has had significant input from our community”.

“We have a huge infrastructure programme which is driving long term investment in Central Hawke’s Bay. We are already seeing this investment through initiatives like the Provincial Growth Fund, which allocated over $35 million of funding into our district last week.  Continuing to build positive relationships with our regional and national counterparts to encourage further investment in our communities is vital.”

“Like all councils across the country we are grappling with increased pressures on affordability. I’m satisfied that we have been through a robust process of balancing these increased pressures with delivering on the aspirations of the community.”

Notes to editor:

• As part of the purpose of Local Government, Council prepares an Annual Plan based on the relevant year of the current Long Term Plan and following consultation if there are significant or material changes for that year.

• If there are significant or material differences to the relevant year of the Annual Plan or the Council have items that require consultation, part of the process of developing the Annual Plan is to consult with the public on the activities, plans, budgets of Council.

• For the four key initiatives Council consulted on, the following was resolved:

1. To earmark $250,000 from the Rural Wards Reserve Funds to support water security initiatives in Central Hawke’s Bay. It was also resolved to develop a framework that investigates the issues of water security to create a local package of solutions, which includes the potential role of Central Hawke’s Bay District Council, Water Holdings CHB Limited, Hawke’s Bay Regional Council, the Tukituki Taskforce and other community groups.
2. To adopt a new Environment and Sustainability Strategy developed as part of Project Thrive, which highlighted how passionate the Central Hawke’s Bay Community is about protecting this beautiful part of the country.
3. To adopt the changes to the Revenue and Financing Policy consulted on during the Annual Plan consultation and balance the impact that new rating values have on the District.
4. To establish a regional Disaster Relief Trust between the five Hawke’s bay Local Authorities led by the Hawke’s Bay Civil Defence Emergency Management Group and assist with the distribution of donations following a disaster.

 -ENDS-

27 June 2019

Back to Archive