A progress report from Mayor Liz McMillan:

Following another big workshop yesterday, our Annual Plan for 2026-27 is really taking shape and I’d like to update you on how things are tracking in terms of rates and important projects.

It’s looking like an average rate increase across the district of 8.71 per cent – made up of 3.75 per cent for three waters services and 4.96 for non-water services. We’ve separated out water services because this is work Council has to do as part of its Water Services Delivery Plan, which came from the Government’s Local Water Done Well initiative.

You’ll see other councils talking about waters and non-water rates too, and this is because water services are exempt from the proposed rates cap that Government wants to implement by 2029. It’s hard to compare apples with apples though, because some Councils have joined together to deliver water services and others have formed CCOs.

We have work to do in our own three waters space, but that mostly involves renewing old drinking water pipes and sewer pipes. We also need a new irrigation system at Ocean Farm, which is where our treated wastewater is sprayed onto land and we need to install water meters on as many residential connections as possible.

Council remains committed to using the data from water meters to help better manage its network – high water use can indicate leaks or broken pipes on Council or private property.

So, what makes up the 4.96 per cent of non-water rates? The introduction of the food and organics waste collection (which we call FOGO) and escalating costs of delivering solid waste services (think fuel and landfill levies) accounts for 2.47 per cent of the non-water rates rise. FOGO was a service that was requested by the community when we consulted in 2024, with over 80 percent in support – and it’s great value for money when you compare it to taking your green waste to a resource recovery park.

Another 1.07 per cent relates mostly to servicing the $20 million loan we are taking out to put toward the cost of the second bridge connecting road. This new bridge will add resilience and connectivity, and help get local traffic off a congested State Highway 1.

Exactly what that proposed 8.71 per cent average rates increase means for individual properties and businesses will vary, depending on the capital value of your property, where you live and the services you receive (like our kerbside collection).

Urban residential rates will absorb more as they receive the services where the cost increases are sitting, including the kerbside waste collection and Council-supplied drinking water and wastewater.

Council agreed yesterday against putting the Annual Plan out for consultation – as far as the big projects go, we’ve already consulted on FOGO and our water services and taken on community feedback.

While there are some changes from Year 3 of the Long Term Plan 2024-34, our proposed spending is on core infrastructure work that must be done and, through reducing budgets in other areas, the average rates rise remains under the 11.9 per cent rise we predicted back then.

We are already locked into the FOGO service, which will be delivered by our new solid waste contractor WasteCo from September this year, and the second bridge and connecting road should start construction soon. Our water services are dictated by the Water Services Delivery Plan and will come under an internal business unit (the community’s choice when we consulted on this last year).

Later this year we’ll begin early consultation on the Long Term Plan for 2027-37 and that will be the best opportunity for you to influence future Council work.

So, there have been some hard conversations about the work programme for 2026-27 and affordability of rates for our community has been top of mind. All our Annual Plan workshops were live-streamed and are recorded, so you can hear the debate and discussion for yourself – it has been robust.

We expect to have a draft Annual Plan for Councillors to consider at our meeting on 8 April. Tune in.