Frequently Asked Questions
- Issues that will influence the Council over the next nine years
- Information about the activities Council is involved with
- Key projects planned
- How your rates will be spent
- How the Council’s work will be funded
- Financial performance
- Glenavy Hall - Wednesday 9 April, 7pm to 8pm
- St Andrews Hall - Monday 14 April, 7pm to 8pm
- Cattle Creek Hall - Wednesday 16 April, 2pm to 3pm
- Maungati Hall - Tuesday 22 April, 7pm to 8pm
- Waimate Event Centre - Wednesday 23 April, 12pm to 2pm and 7pm to 8pm
- renew or replace existing assets;
- respond to growth or decline in demand for council services;
- allow for planned increases or decreases in levels of service (in response to things like increased health or environmental standards); and
- provide for the resilience of infrastructure by identifying and managing risks relating to natural hazards and by making appropriate financial provision for those risks.
What is a Long Term Plan?
We call it the LTP for short and it is a plan that presents the Council’s proposal for the delivery of its activities over the next nine years. It sets out what the Council plan to do, how it will be paid for and when it will happen. It is our key strategic planning document that sets the direction and intent of how the Council intends to make the Waimate District a diverse, thriving, and sustainable District.
What is the consultation document?
As part of the process to develop an LTP, Council is required by law to consult its community on what it is planning. The consultation document sets out what is in the proposed LTP, including major projects and changes to funding over the 9-year period. It identifies options, and costs, considered by the Council’s elected members, as well as explaining why particular options are preferred by the Council. It includes an overview of our financial and infrastructure strategies and an overview of planned major projects.
What’s in the LTP?
The LTP includes:
The Plan outlines how we collectively can create the future we all want, and the role that the Council will play in that.
How much are my rates going to increase?
The average proposed rates increase for Option 1 “managing the impact on rates” for 2025/26 is 9.2%. To find out a more accurate rates estimate for your property please check your Rates Property information at www.waimatedc.govt.nz/myproperty
How do I have my say?
Making a submission is easy!
Online
The easiest way to let us know what you think is to complete our on-line submission form at www.waimatedc.govt.nz/ltp
If you do not have access to a computer you can drop into the Waimate District Library on Queen Street where we have a computer set up so you make your submission.
In writing
Fill in the submission form at the end of our consultation document. Post or drop into the Council office your completed submission. Additional forms are available from the Council office and on our website.
In person
If you wish to make your submission in NZ sign language or te reo Maori please contact Council to organise this.
Can I give feedback on other matters that aren’t outlined in the consultation document?
Yes, the consultation document asks for any other feedback and has space to provide written feedback about what is important to you.
What happens to my feedback?
Your feedback is given to the elected members with all submissions provided for them to read and consider. Council will then hold Hearings where submitters can talk to their submissions. Councillors may ask the CE to prepare additional information before the final decisions are made at the Long-Term Plan adoptions end of June 2025.
It’s important that we hear from you about decisions that directly impact you.
Can I talk to someone about the Consultation Document?
Yes, there are community chat sessions where you can ask questions and join in discussions. The chat sessions are:
Can I speak to Council about my Submission?
You can present your thoughts to Council by speaking to your submission in person. If you’d like to do this, put in a submission outlining the key points you’ll refer to. On your submission form, make sure you select the option to speak to your submission.
Council will read your submission so the speaking to Council at the Hearing is an opportunity to elaborate on your main points of your submission. It is not a venue for introducing new items.
What is a performance measure?
Performance measures are a process of assessing the effectiveness or efficiency of an organisations performance in relation achieving their objectives or goals. These can also be called Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), or performance indicators.
What are “levels of service”?
Levels of service describes the outputs of the Council.
This could mean things like how we manage and maintain our public parks and open spaces, providing a library, operating a local swimming pool, the ability to discuss building consents with a member of our team… everything we do that that impacts the way our community receives a service from council has an agreed way that it is delivered. We call this its ‘level of service’.
What is a financial strategy?
The purpose of the financial strategy is to help Council manage its finances prudently and to provide context for consulting with the community on Council’s proposals for funding and expenditure. The financial strategy provides transparency on the overall effects of those proposals on Council’s services, rates, debt, and investments.
The financial strategy describes the factors that are expected to have a significant impact on Council for the 9-year period of the LTP and beyond, including any expected changes in population or land use and associated costs, and expected capital expenditure on infrastructure. The financial strategy describes Council’s intended financial direction over the period of the LTP, the financial consequences of the policy and service delivery decisions made by Council, and how these consequences will be managed.
What is an infrastructure strategy?
The purpose of the infrastructure strategy is to identify Council’s significant infrastructure issues for the period covered by the strategy and the options for managing those issues and the implications of those options.
The infrastructure strategy outlines how Council intends to manage its infrastructure assets, taking into account the need to:
The infrastructure strategy also outlines the most likely scenario for the management of Council’s infrastructure assets during the period of the strategy, the estimated costs of managing those assets, the nature and timing of expected significant capital expenditure decisions, and the assumptions on which the scenarios are based.