Following votes, rejections and lapsed motions late in the day at what descended into an extraordinary council meeting yesterday, councillors were forced back to the drawing board.
‘‘No-one wants to be in this position,’’ Mayor Mel Tavendale said.
The Waitaki District Council consulted on 19%, 27% and 45% proposed rates rises during a two-week consultation.
First, councillors narrowly rejected the 19% proposed by Mrs Tavendale, after which there was an even bigger rejection of just under 45% put forward by Cr Sven Thelning. Then the 27% lapsed and an 18.1% was lost.
A motion by Cr Jim Hopkins to commit to resolve a number before June 30, when rates are officially set, also lapsed for want of a seconder.
‘‘We basically need to come out of this meeting with a number,’’ director of support services Paul Hope told councillors.
Following crunch talks in the coffee room, councillors emerged and ‘‘reluctantly’’ endorsed the 22%.
They did so with the caveat of an amendment from deputy mayor Rebecca Ryan, amended by Cr Frans Schlack, that officers continue to identify and implement efficiencies, savings opportunities and income generation during the 2026-27 financial year and report to the performance, audit and risk committee.
Crs Courtney Linwood, Dan Lewis, Schlack, Brent Cowles, Thelning and Ryan and Mrs Tavendale voted for.
Crs Jeremy Holding, John McCone, Hana Melania Fanene-Taiti and Hopkins voted against.
Mrs Tavendale said it was a ‘‘really challenging situation’’ and she wanted to acknowledge the ‘‘hurt out there’’.
The mayor also asked officers to investigate leniency around rates arrears.
Cr Cowling said councillors had to be ‘‘bold now’’ in order to to get the ‘‘right future for future generations’’.
Cr Fanene-Taiti said this was a ‘‘really challenging conversation for her’’. She said she worked with vulnerable families ‘‘every single day’’, families who could not afford rent and electricity.
She could endorse 15%-16% at most and there was ‘‘barely anything in the community for that’’.
Cr Hopkins called the 22% ‘‘reckless’’ and said the public consultation was a ‘‘clear barometer’’ of how people felt about the rates options.
More than 580 submissions to the public consultation were received, a record for an annual plan, and hundreds turned out across three community meetings across the district, with more than 500 alone at the Oamaru Opera House.
On Tuesday, elected representatives also pointed to ‘‘tough’’ long-term plan discussions to come with a ‘‘huge’’ amount of work left to do.
Mrs Tavendale said there had been a ‘‘huge amount of feedback’’ and councillors had to find a ‘‘palatable way through’’, which she admitted was ‘‘not easy’’.
‘‘The way forward is finding more sustainable ways of operating.’’
The key directions discussed yesterday were described as an ‘‘essential part of the process’’ to give officers final direction and enable the adoption of the 2026-27 annual plan and setting of the rates at a meeting on June 30.
Earlier in the meeting, councillors pored through — and turned down — requests for funding from:
The Oamaru and Waitaki Visitor Information Centre ($150,000).
Grainstore Gallery ($6300).
Waitaki Recreation Centre ($90,000, and a proposal for $60,000 was also rejected).
North Otago Sustainable Land Management ($10,000).
East Otago Catchment Group ($10,000).
