Selwyn_Times: December 13, 2023

Selwyn Times Wednesday December 13 2023
4
NEWS
• From page 1
“In Selwyn, we have prided
ourselves on wanting to stay
ahead of the game in local government,
making sure all
the infrastructure is looked
after.
“We have to think about how
we set up a community that
is good not just for those that
are here now but for future
generations as well, so those
things have meant if we want
to stay ahead of the game it will
require continued investment.”
If the council was to complete
all of the projects currently
slated in its 2024-34 Long Term
Plan, it would mean about a
$173 rates increase by 2034.
Affecting the council’s
planning is a lack of direction
on what the Government is
intending to do with Affordable
Water Reforms, with the council
running two budgets – one with
water services costs and one
without.
“We need certainty by this
side of Christmas on where
water is going,” Broughton
said.
While the Government
has not indicated its plans
for funding water services, it
has said the Affordable Water
Latest Canterbury news at starnews.co.nz
Investment needed to
‘stay ahead of the game’
Reforms will be repealed.
Broughton, who is also
chair of Local Government
New Zealand, said the current
funding system for councils is
‘broken’ because all it has to rely
on is rates and debt.
“That is the reason why many
councils have got these large
rates rises at the moment,” he
said.
Broughton said funding is
LGNZ’s top priority.
Helping the council in its
planning was a rise in its debt
borrowing caps from 160 per
cent above income to 220 per
cent above income, giving the
council more flexibility in the
amount of debt it carries.
In the 2022/23 financial
year, the council was carrying
$139.289 million in debt.
Also to be discussed as part of
the LTP process is the council’s
investment strategy and whether
it will want to sell or acquire any
assets. Currently, the council
owns $132.224 million of shares
in different companies, the
largest being $106.5 million in
Orion.
The council will start public
consultation on the LTP in
April.
How council
The council returned
a $34 million surplus
for the financial year
ending June 30, down
from $65.2 million from
the previous financial
year. Daniel Alvey looks
at what the council
spent its money on
IN THE last financial year, the
council collected $85.3 million
in rates which went towards
repairing 8096 potholes,
collecting 12,000 tonnes of
rubbish, 5100 tonnes of recycling
and 8800 tonnes of organics,
supplying 8.89 million cubic
metres of water to households
and treating 4.12 million cubic
metres of wastewater.
The council’s key projects
completed included upgrades
to Rolleston town centre, the
Darfield pool, ReDiscover Hub
at Pines Resource Recovery Park
in Burnham, and the opening of
Kakaha Park in Prebbleton.
Despite the $34 million
surplus, residents will not see
a decrease in rates with funds
being used for future investment.
Of the surplus, $9.6 million came
from development.
The council charges
development contributions to
ensure developers pay a fair
share of the cost of providing
additional infrastructure to
service growth demands.
FINISH: The
completion of
stage one of
Kakaha Park
in Prebbleton
was one of
the projects
council
completed
over the
2022/23
financial year.
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