Keeping services in CHB

MED009/18

To be released immediately 1 July 2009

The Central Hawke’s Bay District Council has planned to keep all its present services, save its reserves, and proceed with major projects like the new Waipawa / Waipukurau waste water upgrades, according to the latest Community Plan.

The 2009-2019 Central Hawke’s Bay Long Term Council Community Plan (Community Plan) was adopted on Thursday 25 June 2009 with the increase in the total rates requirement for CHB sitting at 4.8% with increases of 4% each year for the next three years. CHB’s rate rise is below the national average of 6%.

During 2009/2010, Council expects to spend over $22 million in operating costs with $14.5 million of that collected through rates. Rates rises will vary across the district, with some urban properties in Waipukurau and Waipawa experiencing up to a 15% increase, while other areas such as rural Waipawa, Porangahau and Te Paerahi receiving decreases – the largest being -25%.

This rebalancing of the rates follows one major philosophical change to the rating structure – the redistribution of costs across the district, suggested during the 2008 rating review. The rating review was taken to the community and as a result, water and sewerage rates will now be shared district-wide to those connected to the services, and roading costs will be recovered district-wide based on property land value – this is particularly significant as CHB’s average roading costs are 17% higher than other Councils of a similar size.

Those shared costs equate to: connections to water services will be charged $436.51; connections to sewer services will be charged $356.51; the District Land Transport Rate will be set at $0.235c based on the land value of all rateable land in the district; the Uniform Annual General charge, which is a fixed cost per property, will now decrease to $280.00 per property.

Generally, public submissions wanted to keep rates as low as possible while making sure the district progressed. There were requests for major wastewater and drinking water upgrades to go ahead, however they must remain affordable. Some submissions questioned the costs of upgrading the Waipawa Hall and the building of a new Waipawa Library – however, those two projects are not reliant on new rate increases, but will be paid for by maintenance funds and by community fundraising.

Some submissions asked for the proceeds of the sale of the old Otane Library section to help fund the building of the new Waipawa Library, while others congratulated the Council on a job well done and requested the Council stick with the status quo.

Mayor Trish Giddens said the exercise of keeping rates affordable was a challenge, but that sustainability was key.
“We’ve kept all the current services that the community expects, and kept debt as low as we could – though we do still have a deficit. The recent rating review also brought about the change to a district-wide way of thinking which will take a little getting used to. It’s a hard climate out there at the moment, but I think we’ve worked hard on the 10 year Community Plan to keep services and infrastructure sustainable for the future of Central Hawke’s Bay,” she said.

A copy of the full Community Plan can be downloaded from www.chbdc.govt.nz or you can pick up a hardcopy from your local Council office or nearest CHB Library.

ENDS

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