Thirty percent increase in Long-Term Plan submissions
Published on 01 May 2024
Nearly 1,000 submissions have now been received by Whanganui District Council on their proposed Long-Term Plan, more than any previous year, with the council encouraging people to have their say before consultation closes this Thursday.
“It is pleasing to see a record amount of submissions. My desire has been for our council to be more transparent and accessible so this is a good sign that the community are engaging more than they ever have. For this Long-term Plan, we know that the decisions we need to make are big, important ones, and the level of feedback shows our community does too,” says Whanganui District Council Mayor Andrew Tripe.
The 2024-34 Long-Term Plan includes a proposed average rate increase for the 2024/2025 year of 10.6 percent.
“Councils across the country are seeing significant cost escalations due to inflation, interest and insurance rate hikes, and we are seeing the impacts of that first hand,” explains Mayor Andrew. “That said, we know there’s unrelenting cost-of-living pressures on households right now, so we’ve worked hard to bring the average rate increase for next year as low as we possibly could. It is a fine balance between doing the basics, keeping things affordable, and also having aspirations for our future.”
Efforts to balance the Long-Term Plan means that there are two key areas the council is looking for community feedback on – what significant cuts should be made to keep rates affordable, and what long-term investments are needed for the future of the district.
“There are some issues that have been particularly topical at the community events we have attended, including the future of the Whanganui East Pool, potential investment in the Royal Whanganui Opera House and the opening hours of some of our libraries.”
“These choices will affect all of us,” says Mayor Andrew. “So it's essential that we get feedback from as many people as possible, to know what is most important to our community, and how you think we should prioritise funding.
“No decisions have been made yet - we’ll use your submissions to guide our decision making.”
Formal consultation on the 2024-34 Long-term Plan will close at 5pm on Thursday 2 May 2024. All information, including the consultation document and submission form, are available at https://www.whanganui.govt.nz/Your-Council/Have-Your-Say. Submissions can also be made via email, phone or through a hard copy submission form.
ENDS