The Queenstown Lakes District Council is to raise rates by an average of 1.2% for the 2015-16 financial year and an average 2.8% annual increase over the next decade.
The council adopted its 10 Year Plan today, after a public consultation process that began before Easter. Some 552 people made submissions and as a result of considering those, the council has made some changes to what was originally put forward in the draft plan.
The move to raise rates comes after two years of zero average rates increases, the council said, and it would deliver big improvements to infrastructure
Mayor Vanessa van Uden said a prudent approach to budgeting and spending in previous years had provided "headroom" for major capital projects over the next decade that would deliver improvements to residents.
These include upgrading the Project Shotover sewage treatment facility and an earlier start to the Eastern Access Rd, linking Glenda Dr with Remarkables Park.
Plans for a new Convention Centre on the Lakeview site are continuing, subject to external funding. The rating model put forward in the draft plan will be refined further, but still based on the principle that businesses in the Queenstown CBD will pay the most, with a fixed annual charge for residential properties.
Provision has been made to build a library hub at Frankton in 2020, possibly next to the Queenstown Events Centre. Over half the submissions supported this proposal, and more work will be done to put forward a more detailed plan, the council said.
The possibility of standardising the rate for water and sewerage services was still on the table, but needed further investigation. Submissions were slightly in favour of standardising a rate.
The council is to make several new grants, or increase previous funding levels for 2015-16. They include:
- Lakes District Air Rescue Trust - $25,000
- Otago Rural Fire Authority - $85,000
- Queenstown Lakes Community Housing Trust - $12,000
- Happiness House - $15,000
In addition, $60,000 is for the Queenstown Chamber of Commerce's Labour Force project; $35,000 for downtownQT to develop its strategy, and $100,000 for The Cube in Wanaka.
