An Annual Plan is the Council's budget for one financial year and is produced in the years between Long Term Plans.

Consultation took place between 14 March and 21 April and Council received 787 submissions and 1,005 associated submission points from submitters. Hearings were held on Tuesday 6 May, with 23 submitters heard.

Residents provided a say on:

• Considering the best arrangement for Local Water Done Well, the reform of Three Waters services. The best option for our community is a stand-alone business unit of Council while continuing to investigate joint arrangements between the business unit and neighbouring councils. This is essentially the same as we have now but meets the new Government legislative requirements.

• Responding to a NZ Transport Agency funding shortfall: A $13.5m gap for roads and transport over three years

• The impact of increased asset values: Higher valuations of roads, reserves, and water plants drive up depreciation costs. These increases in value result in hikes in costs of depreciation and insurance

• Council also sought input on rates remission for secondary dwellings as well as our Development Contributions policy.

Mayor Dan Gordon said the focus of the Draft Annual Plan in line with the direction from the central government to focus on good quality local infrastructure, core services, and responsible rates increases.

“Residents told us they were happy with the direction we’ve proposed, specifically supporting investing in our infrastructure as Waimakariri grows and demand for services increase.

“This is the direction we set in the Long Term Plan, and it was important that in year one we stayed as close to what we signalled as possible.”

Most submissions however were on the topic of Three Waters Reform, with 97.2% supporting the Council’s preferred option of establishing an internal business unit to manage water going forward.

“This support has vindicated the strong stance and time we have spent advocating for better Three Waters Reform that respected local property rights and had assets remain in the hands of the communities that paid for them.

“I’m proud of the strong stance we took on this, leading the conversational nationally, which has resulted in the best outcome possible for Waimakariri that prioritises financial sustainability (as independently reviewed by consultants Castalia), as well as local ownership and control.”

By September Council will submit a Water Services Delivery Plan to central government that discusses how we will meet future water standards and regulation. It’s our intention to send this well before the deadline.

“We are committed to delivering on what we said we would through the LTP and are continually exploring opportunities to achieve greater value for money while providing the services that our community want.”

The Council formally adopts the Draft Annual Plan on 17 June.