In the next eight months, the council will examine its district plan, long-term council community plan (LTCCP), annual plan and several activity management plans.
It was enough for some councillors to emphasise how careful the council must be not to confuse itself and the public.
The council, noting that suggestion, yesterday issued a statement to eliminate confusion by describing, in some detail, the differences between the plans.
The LTCCP is compiled every three years and outlines what the council wants to achieve over a 10-year period and how these projects will be funded.
An LTCCP review is being drafted now and the public will be asked from next March for its thoughts on what should be included.
Council planning and environment manager Murray Brass said key issues would be the possible introduction of recycling and how much it might cost, how the council could meet tighter drinking water standards without affecting rates too much, and other issues facing the district.
For the two years in between each LTCCP review, the council produced another plan - the annual plan.
Because it would be producing a new LTCCP next year, the council would, in 2009, be preparing the 2010-11 annual plan.
These documents were less detailed than an LTCCP.
Each year, the council also produced an annual report on the council's performance measured against the annual plan and LTCCP.
Another series that dominated council staff time were the activity management plans which examined how the council administered its assets and activities in the long term.
The other major plan to be examined would be the district plan, Mr Brass said.
This document, prepared under the Resource Management Act, set out rules for issues including development and how the district's landscapes are protected.
Mr Brass said the coming months would provide plenty of work for council staff but also a lot of opportunity for the public to have its say.
