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Mangawhai Matters: We must input into the Long Term Plan review

 

 

matters logo-648Throughout the month of March, Kaipara District Council (KDC) will be seeking your input on its Long Term Plan (LTP) review for the years 2021 to 2031. The LTP is KDCs 10 year budget and works programme.

A draft consultation document about this Plan, that has major impacts for Mangawhai, is being finalised this month and consultation with the community will take place throughout the month of March. It is important that as many community members as possible read the consultation document when it is published and give their feedback to KDC or Mangawhai Matters Society.

Every council is required under law to review its LTP every three years ‘in consultation with the public’. This is our only guaranteed opportunity for the next three years to impact what council spends its money on.

 

Major focus
The major focus of the Plan will be:

· Climate Change. KDC proposes work programmes and options to develop its climate change response and will seek options ‘how it can best build this foundation over the next ten years’.

· Roading. It proposes to roll out an unsealed roads strengthening and improvements programme, fix or replace certain bridges and provide more shared footpaths, cycleways and footpaths.

· Focus on wastewater, water supply and stormwater.

· Proposals relating to rates.

· Proposal for a new library for Mangawhai.

One of the major questions for the community will be how and who pays for the proposed services in the Plan. Should separate communities pay the full cost of services they alone receive (KDC says therefore placing a higher burden on small communities) or should the cost be shared by everyone in Kaipara who receives a comparable service?

 

Rates
Of major interest will be the proposed ‘average’ 3.37 percent rate hike for 2021/2022, but this will increase through targeted rates/taxes to pay for some proposed localised programmes if they achieve community support. Although this is the stated proposed increase, in other parts of the draft consultation document, an unexplained ‘average’ forecast rate revenue increase of 5.49 percent is shown. Perhaps this is if all proposals in the Plan are approved?

The draft Plan document says that total rate collections are planned to increase by 49.9 percent over 10 years. As a guide, the total rates as a percentage of total council revenue will increase from $38.7million (total revenue $68 million) in 2021 to $58.2 million (total revenue forecast at $107.8 million) in 2031. Additional KDC revenue is derived from such items as development and infrastructure fees, Land Transport for roading, and other council charges.

Of major interest will be:
· The differential rate charged for Mangawhai (that funded the work being carried out under the Mangawhai Community Plan) is proposed to be abolished. Unfortunately, this won’t have much of an impact on rates as current funding of the Community Plan is through debt.

· A proposed new recycling targeted rate. It is proposed that each urban household will get two crates for recycling that would be collected at kerbside. This will cost $156 in year one, and increase over 10 years to $164 per year.

· Any signs of a reduction in KDC bureaucracy costs as a percentage of total income, indicating an effort to be more efficient with ratepayer taxes.

 

New Mangawhai Library proposal
An important decision for Mangawhai is the proposal to secure a site and plan the development of a new library building for Mangawhai over the next three years.

The council believes the best sites are either Wood St or Mangawhai Central and plans to fund the $5 million development and construction of the new library from loans, development contributions and financial contributions.

Mangawhai will be asked whether it wants a new library, that will impact rates by 0.6 percent annually from year four to year 10 of the LTP, or whether they wish to continue with the status quo, a community-run library next to the Mangawhai Hall. It will also ask where it is best located.

 

Climate change policies
There is much detail on climate change policies in the Plan and KDC will ask the community whether it wishes to spend $1.5m, $1.8m, or $3m over 10 years. All options have rate increase implications. The baseline $1.5m option is to be funded by 0.6 percent of the current proposed 3.37 percent average rate increase. Rate increases of between 0.7 and 1.1 percent apply to some new options. Rate money (more than $150,000 per annum) is already being spent on the costs of a Climate Change Manager employed by KDC last year.

While the public consultation process concerning the Long Term Plan will seek answers to specific questions, it is important to note that there is an option to give feedback on other topics in the Plan.

There is also a chance for submitters to be heard at public hearings on the Plan. No specific timetable for this has been given yet.

Mangawhai Matters Society will be lodging a submission on the Long Term Plan and will seek input from its members.

n Want to join the Mangawhai Matters Society Inc. as a member and have a say? It’s only $20 per family per year. Please make deposits to 01-0204-0160241-00.

Following your payment please email us at mangawhaimatters@gmail.com giving us your name, phone, and address so we can keep in touch.


 
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