Council adopts Annual Plan with no change to general rate increase signalled in Long Term Plan

Waikato District Council has kept its general rate increase to a figure that was planned for in last year’s 10-Year Long Term Plan.

The general rate increase (based on capital value) for this financial year will stay at 3.5% after Council adopted its Annual Plan 2022/23 last week.

Mayor Allan Sanson acknowledges the importance of Council’s financial planning from the 2021-31 Long Term Plan, and the conscientious decisions made to balance the growth of the district along with what people can afford.

“Our Long Term Plan was developed with considerable consultation with our communities. Council made efforts to implement rate increases that were fair for our ratepayers, whilst ensuring that infrastructure and assets receive the maintenance and upgrades needed to effectively serve our people.

The success of no changes being made to the rate increases in our Annual Plan this next financial year is a major win for both Council and our communities”, says Mayor Sanson.

Ratepayers can check their individual rates online with Council’s Rates Information Database (RID) calculator http://www.waikatodistrict.govt.nz/rid.

The 2022/23 Annual Plan financial reporting and targets aligned with the Long Term Plan 2021-31, therefore Council decided public consultation was not required.

The 2022/23 Annual Plan will see dedicated money being allocated across a variety of projects and infrastructure upgrades, including:

• District Plan mandatory changes or variations through to resolution and adoption
• Maintenance of sealed and unsealed roads across the district
• Upgrades to intersections, bridges and road corridors across the district
• Extensions and upgrades to our stormwater, wastewater and drinking water networks
• Implementation of Council’s new customer portals including self-service capabilities to building consents lodging and tracking
• Maintenance to our library books across the district to ensure longevity of these taonga for our customers

For further details and to read the full Annual Plan 2022/23, please visit our website.

ENDS