Proposed 7.5% average rate rise next financial year will be considered by the Waitaki District Council on Tuesday, in debate on the draft long-term plan.
This is the first time councillors will have the chance to debate in public the long-term plan, which looks at expenditure from 2012 to 2022 and includes next financial year's budget.
Workshops have already been held with councillors to formulate the long-term plan. The 7.5% rise in the overall rates take for the 2012-13 financial year will form the starting point for Tuesday's public debate, but the figure could change.
For example, last year the council started with an almost 8% average increase in rates and finally settled for 4.55%.
Waitaki Mayor Alex Familton said yesterday councillors and staff had worked extremely hard this year to minimise rate increases by identifying ways to cut costs.
"It's now important that we listen carefully to what the community wants before we make any final decisions," he said.
Once the draft plan is approved, it will go out for public submissions, which will be considered by the council before final decisions are made.
Mr Familton said that the council needed to take into account a num-ber of factors affecting its future operating costs and income.
"These have included increased insurance costs arising from the Christchurch earthquakes; a drop in the subsidy for roading we receive from the New Zealand Transport Agency [NZTA]; increased depreciation costs on council assets resulting from revaluation; the ongoing drinking water supply upgrades required by the Government; and reduced general investment income," he said.
These factors alone created a baseline rate increase of 4.9%, before additional proposals were taken into account.
Some key topics were already beginning to emerge as a result of council workshops and discussions on the draft long-term plan. These included investment in infrastructure, boosting economic growth, maintaining sustainable levels of service and community buildings, including the community's contribution towards them.
The draft plan would go out for public consultation in April and Mr Familton encouraged the community to consider the key issues the district would be facing over the next 10 years and to provide their feedback to the council.
