Other issues

The following topics are mostly the result of national regulatory changes (including environmental and infrastructure standards) that affect Council’s public facilities, water supplies, stormwater network and planning provisions.

Central Government-led Reforms

There continues to be a significant reform agenda being undertaken by central government which is resulting in a high degree of uncertainty in the sector. Reforms include Three Waters, Resource Management Act, Review into the Future of Local Government, and the Emergency Management Framework.

All these reforms have the potential to significantly affect core Council business. The most pressing reform is still Three Waters which proposes to take the provision of water supply from councils across New Zealand and amalgamate these into four entities.

Climate Change and Sustainability

In 2022 the Council adopted a Climate Change Scenario Technical Report. This report, prepared by the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA), is to inform the climate change response in our District.

The report found that weather patterns are expected to become more volatile and we will see annual average temperatures increase generally, with fewer frost and snow days. In 2017/18 we undertook an emissions inventory that found 72% of the Council’s emissions come from vehicles, 14% from power, 11% from air travel and 3% from other.

We have since adopted a corporate sustainability strategy and ensured these principles are now part of our everyday actions and a consideration in our procurement. Currently the Council is calculating an emissions profile for the District, and our own Emissions Reduction Plan.

Community Facilities

The 2021 Long Term Plan had a focus on community facilities that are needed for our growing District. The Council resolved to secure land in Pegasus and North Woodend and look to build a community facility in Pegasus by 2024/2025 as well as investigate possible community facilities in North Woodend by 2029/2030 to secure future opportunities for these growing communities.

We also deferred the upgrade of the Trevor Inch Memorial Library and Rangiora Civic Building to 2028 and decided to revisit this proposal in the next Long Term Plan.

Rubbish and Recycling

We know that too much rubbish and recyclable material is ending up in landfills and our environment. Central government is currently reviewing legislation that regulates our rubbish and recycling sector. Staff and consultants are working through a plan to upgrade the Southbrook site, with the intention of finalising design this year, obtaining a consent during the 2023/24 year and construction starting in 2024/25.

This upgrade, which was budgeted for in a prior Long Term Plan, will mean that the Park can continue to meet the needs and expectations of our growing population. Once costs are known this will likely be a topic for a future Long Term or Annual Plan.

Rating Revaluation

At the end of 2022 new rating valuations were received for Waimakariri. These valuations are prepared by Quotable Value (QV) and look at the rateable value of all properties in the District. Rating valuations are usually carried out on all New Zealand properties every three years to help councils set rates for the following three-year period

Inflation and Depreciation

Like residential property, the value of public assets owned by the Council has increased. However, the market value to replace these has also increased dramatically due to inflation.

Rather than taking the extreme step of adding a required 7.52% to overall rates in order to combat that steep rise in replacement cost, we have taken a measured approach and will watch what happens to the cost fluctuations in the coming years. Our aim is to gradually fund this spike in replacement cost over the next five years.

Development Contributions

The Council has reviewed its Development Contribution Policy to confirm that the elements of the policy are still relevant for administration of development contributions. The key topics considered under this review include:

• Rebate/remission scheme for development in Tuahiwi Reserve MR873

• Development contribution maps associated with development in east Rangiora.

For more information on these topics click on the links in the Key Documents tab and feel free to reference these topics in your submission.