Ashburton District residents have a little over two weeks remaining to have their say on Council’s Annual Plan.

Councillors have taken their plan to the community via three town meetings and an online presentation, and submissions will be accepted until 5pm on Friday 6 May.

Mayor Neil Brown said while they would have liked to see more people attend the public meetings, the quality of questions and discussion had been very good.

“Some of the more common questions have been around the state of our roads, which we are proposing to improve with a $1.7m boost from forestry reserves, and about how the new library and civic centre building is tracking.

“The new build is a few months behind schedule because of Covid-19 lockdowns and supply chains issues, but it is still within the budget and its contingency. Fair to say, though, that we are keeping a close eye on it.

“We encourage residents to have their say on this Annual Plan, which spells out what we aim to do in 2022-23 and how we will pay for it.

“There have been some obvious challenges, like record-high inflation and Covid-19, but the work we plan to do is all about maintaining current levels of service and meeting Government compliance for things like drinking water.”

The overall effect of the Annual Plan is a 9.4 per cent average rates rise.

Mayor Brown said people could use the online rates calculator to see what the result would be for their individual properties.

“Bear in mind too that property valuations have also gone up much higher for urban people compared to rural areas.”

Residents can find out more about what’s proposed and have their say online at itsourplace.nz. They can also watch a replay of the online meeting and find explanations of what’s planned for Ashburton, Methven and Rakaia.

All submissions received will be discussed by Councillors following hearings on 24 and 25 May.