As we come to the end of another year, it’s a good time to reflect on the past 14 months since my election as Mayor of Waikato district.
I am grateful for your confidence in me to lead and serve you and our wonderful district in this hugely complex time we live in.
It certainly has had its challenges with the storm events in the first couple of months of 2023 and the continuing cost of living pressures that the whole county is experiencing.
But with nine new elected members, including the establishment of two Maaori Wards,
it has been an important time to ensure the vision and outcomes for you and our communities is at the heart of all mine and council’s planning, implementation and delivery of the services and projects required within our vision for the district.
Our focus is on ensuring you are heard, your views respected and to improve the many ways council communicates and engages with you.
Key infrastructure planning, maintenance and much needed capital investment are key to the best outcomes for our district, both economically and socially.
Sustainability, resilience, enhancing the wellbeing of all our communities, and addressing growth-related challenges and opportunities that affect us all, are also high on my council’s priorities.
And an area that I am personally passionate about is improving the connection with our communities.
We are now better connected with our community boards and committees, and we’ve established a vital line of communication with our rural sector through the formation of a Rural Economic Advisory Panel.
The end of the year also marks the need to look forward to next year and beyond.
Our staff, councillors and I are grappling with the incredibly tough task of putting together out draft 2024-2034 Long-Term Plan (LTP).
A Long-Term Plan is a strategic plan that outlines the Council's activities, and how they are managed, delivered, and funded over the next decade.
Affordability is one of our biggest concerns. Three main factors contribute to our increasing costs: inflation and interest, which are global issues, and growing compliance demands from central government.
All this means it is costing us more to deliver the same services to our communities.
It is shaping up to be the most challenging Long-Term Plan we’ve had to deliver for our district. The projects we planned three years ago will cost significantly more to deliver to the community.
We are not alone. Councils across the country are facing the same issues. Our focus for the next 10 years will be keeping our district running in the best way we can. Looking after our key infrastructure networks, like roading and waters, for the long term, while ensuring the cost to you through rates is as reasonable as it can be.
This means we have to carefully prioritise our projects, services and activities – we simply can’t do it all.
Staff are working hard to review what savings can be made as we attempt to pull pack a potentially high rate increase in the first year of the draft LTP.
But we will be out and about across the district from March 2024 to discuss the draft plan with our communities and get feedback on what should be prioritised and what is most important to you.
In the meantime, I do hope you enjoy your summer break. Take time to spend quality time with your whanau and friends and if you’re travelling, please take care.
There’s a lot of work being done on our roads, and roads across the country. With that comes roadworks, so please be patient and get to your ‘happy places’ safely.
Enjoy!
Ngaa mihi nui and warmest regards,
Mayor Jacqui Church
