DCC

A recommendation to turn down a request to introduce a Dunedin City Council bylaw banning smoking on footpaths around Dunedin Hospital is disappointing, but not surprising, hospital managers say.

The Dunedin City Council annual plan meeting began with finger-pointing yesterday, when council chief executive Jim Harland launched an attack on the media.

Changes to the rating system for farmers, bed and breakfast businesses and lifestyle blocks were approved for consultation, despite concerns from Cr John Bezett more consultation should have already been done.

A multimillion-dollar budget for the redevelopment of Logan Park will be carried over to the 2010-11 year as planning for the project continues, Dunedin city councillors at yesterday's annual plan hearing were told.

There appears to be support among Dunedin's city councillors to try for a substantial reduction in forecast rates at today's annual plan meeting.

Dunedin ratepayers look set to pay an extra 7.3% in rates for the next financial year, along with increased fees and charges for activities ranging from building a house to burying the dead.

Dunedin's council housing rents are likely to rise later this year by $9 a week for every unit, a rise the Dunedin City Council says is needed to pay for new units being built, increased rates, staff costs and contractor costs.

With the big decisions made, and the borrowing under way, the Dunedin City Council now has to find a way to manage its debt-heavy budget for the next year and beyond.

The cost of dying looks set to go up as the Dunedin City Council signals plans to hike a host of fees later this year.

Dunedin's plan to develop and launch a new brand for the city has sparked a strong city-wide response, and the search is now on to find the "essence" of the Dunedin experience to promote the city to the rest of the world.