Council releases Annual Plan for public feedback

Ōpōtiki District Council has released an information document on the 2022-23 Annual Plan and is inviting public feedback. The document outlines expected changes in rates and some of the key projects for the coming year.

Ōpōtiki Mayor Lyn Riesterer said the 2021-20131 Long Term Plan (LTP) was consulted on extensively last year and there is no significant change this year.

“There isn’t much change from the expected work programme or levels of service to the community between this annual plan and the LTP, so we won’t run a ‘special consultative process’ this year. A special consultative process can be time-consuming and quite expensive because there are formal hearings and a much more proscribed submission process.

“But, of course, we still want to hear from our communities and get your feedback so we can consider that for our future plans,” Mayor Riesterer said.

The Mayor reiterated that council is always open to feedback on any aspect of council business. People are welcome to write a letter or email, fill in a form on the website, send a comment in Antenno or arrange a chat in person with someone from council or with a councillor.

“People don’t need to wait until Annual Plans to let us know their thoughts or views. There are lots of ways that people can have a say in council decisions, big and small,” Mayor Riesterer said.

A copy of the information document and a link to an online feedback form can be found on the website at odc.govt.nz/apfeedback. Hard copies are available from Council's office at 108 St John Street, Ōpōtiki, the Ōpōtiki District Library and the Ōpōtiki i-SITE and can be posted out on request by emailing info@odc.govt.nz.

The 2022-23 Annual Plan will be adopted by 30 June and become operative from 1 July 2022.

Key facts and figures:

• $16.7m capital expenditure (up from $11.2m in LTP due to deferral of capital expenditure from current year)
• $22.1m debt (increase from $15.0m in LTP due to timing of capital expenditure and renewal funding)
• $15.1m operational expenditure (increase from $14.7m in LTP)
• 6.82% proposed total rates increase (increase from 4.0% in LTP due to increases in unavoidable costs)