Delivering on my promise of affordability

Like many households across our district, we know the pressure people are feeling right now. Fuel is up, groceries are up and every cent matters.

We know that any rates increase impacts households, which is why I promised a focus on getting runaway rate rises back under control.

Which is why I’m pleased to say, after long deliberations, last week we approved a 2.8% general rate increase. It’s one of the lowest in years and below the rate of inflation.

Overall, the average targeted rate increase of will be 3.79%, which is inside the rate cap signalled by the government. For those connected to drinking and wastewater reticulated services, we’ve kept the additional fixed charge increase to $143 per annum. 

I know this still adds pressure and this is just the start, but it does reflect our commitment to focus on affordability in the draft Annual Plan 2026/2027 with further savings being worked on for the upcoming Long Term Plan.

We use the word affordability a lot. I also acknowledge that affordability is subjective, it’s not a one size fits all.  I can assure you, we are committed to delivering value for money. Both staff and councillors are working to control costs to keep rates increases in line with, or below inflation.

We want to continue to deliver services for our communities, despite the challenges of operating under constantly changing local and global influences. 

Your elected members have a strong desire to reduce increases for their communities. How are we doing this?  By reviewing all of the services we deliver and how we deliver them. We want to focus on core council business our communities value – the “must haves” not the “nice to haves”.

We will be coming back to you to get your feedback on this. Getting input early in the process as an expression of citizen assemblies, we will be using our new Community Voice Panel, REAP (Rural Engagement Advisory Panel), our community boards and community committees, and our new Toituu Marae forum to get your views on what services you value, where we should focus and where we need to improve. 

In turn, alongside that we continue to challenge staff to look for cost savings and new ways of working more efficiently and effectively. That includes stopping or redefining projects where the benefits do not outweigh the spend.

And as I promised, we’re actively exploring shared services with neighbouring councils where it makes sense.  This is already underway and will deliver value next year and beyond.

Your input, reflecting your own community, will help shape our Long Term Plan and make sure we manage rates responsibly within any rate caps set by government. 

I was elected mayor six months ago to get rate rises back under control, and with your input shaping the Long Term Plan, we will achieve that and keep rates within any cap set by government. 

Ngaa mihi
Mayor Aksel