1% - Waikato District Council

98NAVIGATING THE FUTURE | WAIKATO DISTRICT COUNCILWhat’s plannedThe following are the major initiatives in the plan. The fullwork programme (capital and operational spending) is listedon page 61 in Volume Two.• A binding poll was held to see whether we should introduceMaaori wards for the next two elections in 2013 and 2016.The majority of those who voted were against the proposal.We have reviewed all our representation arrangements(number of wards, councillors etc) and as a result, it isproposed that:• The existing Onewhero and Whaingaroa wards aremerged to form the Onewhero-Te Akau ward, reducingthe number of wards by one• Ward boundaries for Huntly, Raglan and Newcastleare slightly expanded• Raglan Community Board boundaries are expandedto include Ruapuke, Te Mata and Te Uku• A total of 13 councillors for the 10 wards, plus theMayor elected at large. This would mean a reductionof one councillor.Consultation on this proposal is timed to close afterthe adoption of this Long Term Plan.• The funding of the district-wide minor improvementsprogramme is reduced from $125,000 to $100,000. Thisprogramme funds local projects such as planting trees andvegetation, minor kerb and channel work, providing picnicarea car parking, footpaths.• The contract with Sport Waikato has been halved, to makethe budget affordable, resulting in one co-ordinator andwork being prioritised to allow for this.• The council decided to set aside an amount of $10,000each year to assist with operational costs of communitycommittees as a result of the submissions process.Criteria will be set in place to fairly distribute these funds.What’s not in the plan• Budgets to support an adjustment to the number ofcommunity boards or elected representation at council level• Specific budget to address implementation of the JointManagement Agreement schedules. This will be revisitedover time as we better understand the implications.ObjectiveThriving Waikato: Communities have an opportunityto influence the decision making process.How we’ll know we are on trackPercentage of respondents who understand how thecouncil makes decisions as measured by the AnnualSatisfaction Survey.Percentage of respondents who agree that they have hadthe opportunity to be involved and participate in the waythe council makes decisions as measured by the AnnualSatisfaction SurveyProposed level of serviceOur communities understand the decision making process.Our communities have an opportunity to be involved inthe decision making process.Targets10/11 Actual Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Years 4-1047% 60% 65% 70%58% 60% 65% 70%Potential significant negative effectsNo potential significant negative effects have been identified for this activity.What you’ve said“Community consultation is crucial.Make sure you consult and listen.”