Capital Programme

Each year the Council budgets to upgrade and replace critical community assets and infrastructure such as water and sewer pipes, treatment plants, drains, and roads.

As our population grows we allow for increases in demand. In some years this has resulted in there being projects not required but that remain budgeted for. Council has asked staff to rejig the approach to our capital programme to allow for this in more realistic timeframes that matches growth and timing of capital works.

In 2023/24 and 2024/25, the council delivered about $54m each year in capital works.

For 2025/26, the budget is $72.7m, but an under-spend of $11.5M is predicted, leading to $22.5m carryover.

If the budget remains unchanged, 2026/27 would introduce $73m new budget, plus carryover, totalling $95.5m, which is unrealistic given past delivery capacity.

Council is wanting to reduce the 2026/27 capital works budget to about $61m (instead of $73m) to align with realistic delivery capacity achieved in the 2023/24 and 2024/25 years.

Council thinks this is an achievable target longer term and it is timely to revisit the programme and budget for capital works given underspending in some years has resulted in some carry over budget.

There is little to no risk in this approach, as it brings Council’s capital programme into a more realistic delivery timeframe and appropriate budget.

What this does mean is that some projects will be delayed and careful consideration will need to be made about which projects get put to the top of the list.

The following is proposed as a criteria for how projects will be prioritised:

• Statutory compliance and consenting requirements
• Existing commitments to community groups, contractors, and council
• Projects with external funding at risk (e.g. NZTA subsidy)
• Work that smooths contractor workload
• Projects already advanced in design.

Projects may be deferred if:

• Public consultation hasn’t started
• Land purchase or consenting hasn’t progressed
• Design work is insufficient for completion in 2026/27.

This approach rejigs our budgets to ensure our work programme remains achievable, while ensuring the budget focuses on deliverable, high-priority projects.