DRAFT LTP book.indb - Hurunui District Council

Draft Hurunui Community Long Term Plan 2012 - 2022an alternative but will do so in 2012/13 after considering thefeedback we receive.In light of the lessons learned from the Canterbury earthquakes,one of the things we are proposing to do to contribute to publicsafety is getting onto the tasks of assessing commercial andpublic buildings in the district sooner rather than later. Thisis a prime example of safety adding signifi cant cost. We haveproposed to undertake engineer assessments of identifi edearthquake prone buildings over the fi rst three years of thePlan. Although we are not ‘required’ to do it this quickly, weconsider this to be essential and hope that you agree.We have a number of committees and boards with variousdelegations to oversee and govern areas of responsibility.Most of the members of these commit to their functions on avoluntary basis, and whether paid or unpaid, we highly commendthe efforts of all of these dedicated people. The Hanmer SpringsCommunity Board is our only Board (or committee) electedthrough the local government triennial election process. Thefi ve elected members of the board are paid, and half of thisis funded through a district wide rate. We think this paymentshould be 100% funded by the Hanmer Springs Ward ratepayersinstead and are interested in what you think on this.considerably across the district, according to the projectsproposed in each ward. For example, there are differing levelsof expenditure for upgrades and debt repayment for each waterscheme; there is a new medical centre proposed for Cheviot; anumber of projects planned for Hanmer Springs; and so on. Allthese projects are proposals within the Plan, and your feedbackis invited. The sample property analysis on page 281 gives apicture of the impact of rates for the 2012/2013 year for thevarious rating areas. You can fi nd out what the proposed ratesare for your property for the entire 10 year period by contactingus directly or going onto our website.Despite the proposed increase to our rates, we have takena conservative approach to this plan. We assure you, asratepayers and residents, that we have applied our best effortsto develop this long term plan diligently, to create what webelieve is a robust and comprehensive strategic framework forHurunui for the next ten years, notwithstanding the challengesand uncertainties we all presently face. We look forward toreceiving your feedback to the Hurunui Community Long TermPlan and meeting with you to discuss this further at any publicopportunities in the weeks ahead.Rates tend to be contentious and can be diffi cult to understand.We use a variety of different rating methods, for example,we rate some services across the District and other itemsacross wards only. And we also fund some activities throughtargeting particular users (as with tourism). To get a betterunderstanding of how activities and services are funded and why,refer to the Financial Strategy and our Revenue and FinancingPolicy. The Financial Strategy is a new requirement under theLocal Government Act. We are interested in hearing from youabout any of our policies and welcome your feedback via thesubmission process.Full details of the projected rate movements, year by year,are shown in the Funding Impact Statement on page 175. Wemust emphasise that amenity and targeted rate increases varyCentralGovernment ElectionsRotherham public ToiletsLocal Government Elections2018/192017/18 2019/20Representation ReviewLong Term Plan Review2020/21Central Government Elections2021/22Long Term Plan Review7