1% - Waikato District Council

8NAVIGATING THE FUTURE | WAIKATO DISTRICT COUNCILFrom theMayorand ChiefExecutiveWe said in our draft document,that people often greet theprospect of reading a councilLong Term Plan as they mightview watching paint dry. We’reencouraged that around 300people found it interestingenough that they were promptedto provide us with constructiveand informative feedback.We know many more will have read the document and/orthe summary. The submissions we received along with generalfeedback from public information evenings, provided us withvaluable insights into what concerns you have about yourcommunities. Thank you for taking the time to get involved.As we made our decisions, we had to keep in mind ourstrategic direction, building on the foundations of what wealready have to enable us to take advantage of future growth,both economic and population while being careful not toover-reach; being financially prudent in recognition of the hardeconomic climate we have to deal with.We know that providing amenities and facilities, as highlightedby many submitters, contributes to the overall community, yourwork, leisure and lifestyles. However, the impact of any decisionsto provide for these things also impacts on rates, which isa major issue for most ratepayers.So, our approach has been to maintain what we have in theknowledge that we have a strong foundation on which tobuild for the future. As a result of our decisions, the increasein the general rate will be 2.3 per cent for the year from1 July 2012, which will enable us to maintain our existingassets and infrastructure.In 2010, properties were revalued, so while 2.3 per centis the amount of the increase for the council, your generalrate increase could be more, or less, than this because ofthe revaluations.The effect of the revaluations, coupled with last year’s ratesreview, meant some properties would experience big increasesin rates. To counter this, we have put in place a transitionalrates remission policy which will provide relief for those whoseproperties are most affected.We have also increased targeted rates for water, wastewater,and refuse. This wasn’t an easy decision - the increases willhave an impact on individual households. We also have to beprudent, and we cannot fund the operation of services such aswater, wastewater and refuse, from the general rate. We haveincreased these charges because the operating accounts are indeficit and to be financially sustainable we need to get theseaccounts back into credit.