We’re starting work on our next Long Term Plan. This 10-year plan will guide the services we provide, the projects we deliver and how we use your rates.
Before we make any decisions, we want to hear what matters to you and your community.
Have your say
We’re talking with our communities before we write the draft plan. This is not the formal consultation. Right now, we’re listening to what matters to you. Formal consultation is planned for March 2027, when you’ll have another chance to have your say.
What we hear now will help shape the draft plan.
What is a Long Term Plan?
Every three years, every council in New Zealand must produce one. It’s a 10-year roadmap.
The Long Term Plan (LTP) sets out our priorities, the projects we’ll deliver, the budget behind them, and the financial strategy for how we pay for it all. It covers the services and infrastructure that matter most to our communities.
It’s required by the Local Government Act 2002. But it’s more than a council document.
The Long Term Plan is where Council and the community agree on the priorities for the district and how we will fund them.
Like any long-term budget, the LTP balances what we need now with what we need to prepare for. It looks at everyday services, future projects and how we will pay for them over the next 10 years.
The kinds of things it decides
- Which roads get repaired, and in what order
We maintain more than 1,400 km of local roads. Central government has reduced the subsidy it pays councils for road maintenance, so more of that cost now falls on rates. - How rubbish and recycling works across the district
Kerbside collection, transfer stations, and waste minimisation — what’s collected, how often, and what it costs. - Which parks, playgrounds and halls we can afford to keep We look after a lot of community facilities. Some communities have several within walking distance of each other; others have none nearby.
- What new infrastructure the district needs as it grows
The Waikato is one of the fastest-growing parts of the country. Growth needs roads, pipes and public space — and someone has to pay for them. - How affordable your rates bill is
Rates fund around two-thirds of what we do. The rest comes from government subsidies, grants, development contributions and fees.
Why every three years, if it’s a 10-year plan?
The plan looks 10 years ahead, but it gets rewritten every three. That is deliberate, and it is set by law. Ten years is long enough to plan properly for the things that take years to build and decades to pay off — a bridge, a water main, a new sports field. Three years is short enough that the plan does not drift out of date. Costs change, the district grows, and communities change their minds about what matters.
So, each plan is a fresh ten-year view rather than a continuation of the last one. It is rebuilt in the middle year of the council term, which means the councillors you elected set the direction for the ten years that follow.
The first three years are planned in the most detail. Years four to ten set the direction and signal what is coming and get firmed up in the next plan.
Who decides?
Your elected councillors make the final call. But the law requires them to consult the community first — and this council has asked us to go further than the legal minimum, and to start earlier.
That’s why we’re out in communities now, in September and October 2026, rather than waiting until the draft plan is written.
Why this plan matters more than the last one
Three things have changed since 2025, and all of them make the choices harder.
Costs have outrun rates The cost of building and maintaining infrastructure has risen faster than general inflation for several years. As a result, the same amount of rates funding now covers less road work, pipe work and maintenance than it did when the last plan was prepared.
NZ Transport Authority Waka Kotahi (NZTA) still pays 51% of our local road costs. But the national fund it comes from hasn't grown to keep up with rising construction costs. With more than 1,400 km of local roads and a large rural network, that lands heavily in our district.
Water has moved out of the plan
Drinking water and wastewater are no longer funded through your WDC rates. That changes the shape of our budget — and it means this plan is about everything else we do.
We know there are more good ideas than the budget can cover. These conversations will help us understand what matters most to our communities, so we can make informed choices about where to focus.
And local government is being reformed
Councils across New Zealand are being reorganised, and Waikato District Council is part of that process. No decisions have been made, and any change would take effect at the 2028 local elections at the earliest.
That makes this plan more important, not less. Whatever structure follows, this is the district’s financial position, service commitments and priorities going into it — built on a clear record of what our communities said mattered.
Find out more about the central government’s Simplifying Local Government programme and our Head Start Pathway submission.
Learn more
Let’s talk — and talk again
We’re asking for your views twice — now and again in March 2027. Each conversation has a different purpose, and both matter.
Right now, we’re asking what matters to you
We haven’t made any decisions yet. There is no draft plan, set of options, or detailed budget. We’re asking what matters most in your community so your feedback can help shape the draft plan.
Taking part now gives you an early opportunity to help shape the draft plan. What you tell us will help identify the issues and priorities Council needs to consider from the start.
We know there are more good ideas than the budget can cover, so we're asking what matters most to your community and where Council should focus. We also want to be clear about the limits we're working within. Rates fund around two-thirds of what we do, and our costs keep rising. The national roading fund hasn't grown to keep pace with those costs, so the money for local roads doesn't stretch as far as it used to. Water services have moved to IAWAI – Flowing Waters.
In March, the questions get more specific
By then we will have gone through everything you told us and worked out what it all costs. We’ll have a draft plan, and a document setting out the choices in front of us.
The questions change shape at that point. Instead of asking what matters, we’ll be asking things like.
We can afford some of this, but not all of it. What would you keep?
We could leave this service as it is, but rates would go up. Or we could scale it back and they wouldn’t. Which would you prefer?
Do we look after what we’ve already got, or build for the growth that’s coming. There isn’t enough to do both properly.
This is the formal consultation, run under the Local Government Act 2002. It's called the Special Consultative Procedure, and it carries legal weight. You write a submission, you can come and talk to councillors about it in person, and they must genuinely consider it before they decide.
Topic
Now — September and October 2026
March 2027
What we are asking
What matters most in your community?
Here are the options and what each one costs. Which do you back?
What exists at this point
No draft plan, no options, no numbers.
A draft plan and a consultation document setting out the choices.
What your input shapes
What goes into the plan in the first place.
Which of the options in front of you gets chosen.
How you take part
Come to a session, use the online form, email us, or fill in a paper form.
Make a written submission and speak to it at a hearing if you want to.
What it is called
Early engagement.
The Special Consultative Procedure, under the Local Government Act 2002.
Why we’re asking twice
There are really two questions here. Right now: what should be on the table? In March: which of these do we go with?
If you wait until March, you'll be choosing from a list someone else put together. Come along now and you help decide what's on that list in the first place. It's also why your councillor is running these sessions rather than staff.
Local Government New Zealand puts meaningful engagement with communities at the heart of what makes local government work and calls it a core part of the councillor's job. We think that's right.
What your rates pay for
Most people know we do roads and rubbish. Here’s the rest of it.
- +14,000 km of local roads — Sealed streets and rural gravel roads. That’s roughly Hamilton to Wellington and back — every kilometre of it ours to maintain.
- 17k library members — Free books, internet access and community programmes, open to every resident.
- ~66% of the budget comes from rates — The rest is government subsidies, grants, development contributions and fees for services.
- 10 years this plan cover — Decisions made in 2027 shape the district through to 2037 and beyond.
- Parks, reserves and playgrounds — Sports grounds, coastal reserves and open space, maintained year-round.
- Community halls and facilities — The buildings your community meets, gathers and celebrates in.
- Stormwater — The pipes and channels that stop roads and homes from flooding.
- Planning and consents — Resource and building consents, district planning and compliance.
- Emergency management — Preparing the district for floods, storms and other emergencies.
- Waste and recycling — Kerbside collection, transfer stations and waste minimisation.
What happened to water?
Drinking water and wastewater are no longer part of your Waikato District Council rates — but stormwater still is.
In 2025 central government passed the Local Government (Water Services) Act, requiring every council in New Zealand to put water services on a more financially sustainable footing, and to run them at arm’s length from the rest of council.
Waikato District Council and Hamilton City Council responded by creating IAWAI – Flowing Waters, a company jointly owned by both councils. The name was developed with Waikato-Tainui: ia (flow), awa (river), wai (water).
Drinking water and waste waters still need to be paid for, but they are no longer included in your Waikato District Council rates. IAWAI will bill separately for these services, much like other household utilities are billed separately from rates.
Because of this, water services sit outside the 2027–37 Long Term Plan. This plan is about everything else the council does.
Type of Water
What It Is
Who Looks After It
Where we're up to
View key dates and what's coming up
View timeline
Frequently asked questions
No. This is early listening, before the plan is drafted. Formal consultation — the Special Consultative Procedure under the Local Government Act — opens in March 2027, and that’s when you can make a written submission and speak to it at a hearing. What you tell us now feeds into what goes into the draft in the first place.
By the time formal consultation opens, there will be a draft plan and a clearer set of options. Taking part now gives you an earlier opportunity to tell us what matters in your community and what the draft plan should consider.
We can’t tell you a number yet — that’s what the budget modelling from October onwards works out. What we can tell you is that costs are rising faster than rates have, and that the plan will involve trade-offs. The rates implications of each option will be set out in the consultation document in early 2027.
Drinking water and wastewater moved to IAWAI – Flowing Waters, jointly owned by Waikato District Council and Hamilton City Council, and are billed separately. Stormwater stays with us and is still funded from your rates.
Any change from the Head Start or Back Stop processes would take effect at the 2028 local elections at the earliest, and central government makes that decision. The Long Term Plan remains in force in the meantime, and it becomes the record of this district’s commitments and priorities going into whatever structure follows. That’s an argument for doing it well, not for skipping it.
No. If you own property here, run a business here, farm here, or use our facilities, your view is relevant even if you live elsewhere. The form asks about your connection to the district, so we understand the picture.
Contributions are recorded by theme rather than attributed to individuals. Staff pull together what’s captured at each session alongside everything that comes in by form, email and hard copy. The themes go back to your community in writing and to Council in a public engagement report that informs the draft plan.
Giving your name and contact details is optional. We collect them only so we can send you updates or invite you to take part again, and we hold them under the Privacy Act 2020. Information held by council can be requested under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987, so please don’t include anything in your feedback you wouldn’t want released. You can ask to see or correct what we hold about you at any time.
We work in partnership with mana whenua, including Waikato-Tainui. Engagement with iwi, hapuu and marae runs alongside the community sessions rather than as a sub-set of them and includes a dedicated session at the Toituu Marae Forum. Our Maaori ward councillors are part of sessions across their rohe, not only the marae forum.
Possibly. We have capacity for a limited number of additional conversations in this round, but more will be scheduled for formal consultation in 2027 when we’ll be running a wider programme. Email myvoice@waikatodc.govt.nz or talk to your local councillor.
Use the online form, email us, or pick up a paper form from a library or service centre. If something makes it hard for you to attend a session — such as the timing, venue, transport, or accessibility — please let us know. Your feedback will help us plan future sesssions.
From 1 July 2025
- General rates increase by 4.25%
- Targeted rates rise between 4.5% and 11%, depending on your location and services used.
You can check how this affects you with our Rates nformation Database.
We’ve planned $162.7 million in capital projects to support new development, with developers helping to fund these through updated development contributions.
Related Documents
LTP factsheets by ward 2025 - 2034
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Last updated 9 September 2026, 11:18 am