Long Term Community Plan 2012-2022 - Hurunui District Council

Hurunui Community Long Term Plan 2012 - 2022
Service
Relevant Community
Outcomes
Relevant Issues &
Constraints
Who benefits, and over what
period
Future Funding & Sustainability
Community
Services and
Facilities –
Medical Centres
The Council’s funding
of Medical Centres
contributes to the Hurunui
district being:
A desirable and safe place
to live:
• We have attractive well
designed townships
• Communities have
access to adequate
health and emergency
services and systems
and resources are
available to meet civil
defence emergencies
• Risks to public health
are identified and
appropriately managed
A place where our
traditional rural values and
heritage make Hurunui
unique:
• People have a range
of opportunities to
participate in leisure and
culture activities
• Our historic and cultural
heritage is protected for
future generations
In remote rural locations,
property developers /
property owners do not
wish to take the commercial
risk to develop and lease
out specialised medical
facilities. Without these
facilities, local residents
and visitors would be some
distance away from primary
medical care. Users
closest to a facility have
the potential to benefit
most from it, hence there
are benefits in terms of
increased transparency and
accountability from funding
these facilities separately
from other Council
services, and however it is
not practical to implement
a differential rate within
each ward or community
rating area. Funding this
service separately adds no
extra cost.
The predominant benefit is to users
of the facilities, but there will also be
a benefit to each local community in
which facilities are situated, in that
the general health of the community
is likely to be improved and in that
there will be less need to transport
those who are in need of treatment
to other areas of the District. In this
sense there may also be some benefit
to the District as a whole.
The benefits from Capital Expenditure
accrue over the life of the investment
and so capital expenditure should be
funded by a loan or from reserves. The
benefits from operational expenditure
accrue at the time of expenditure.
Operational Costs:
• 100% User charges with any shortfall
funded by a medical centre rate within
the relevant ward or community
rating area.
Capital Costs:
• Any capital requirements will be
catered for by loan funding pursuant
to the Council’s Internal Financing
Policy to be funded by a medical
centre rate within the relevant ward
or community rating area. If Council
decides that the District should
contribute (in the past, there has been
a $150,000 contribution made to each
community) then the amount of the
contribution is subtracted from the
loan. If any of the Capital Expenditure
caters for future growth, then that
portion of the expenditure that relates
to growth may be funded from future
units of demand via Development
Contributions and loans.
Sustainability:
• There are slight negative effects on
the current and future economic
wellbeing of the communities
affected, but this will be offset by gains
in current and future social wellbeing.
There will also be some gain in
economic wellbeing, to the extent
that the need for out-of-district travel
is lessened.
233