But the word "together" has come under fire because the council bypassed public consultation, relying on the 1500 submissions it received as part of the Long Term Plan just over a year ago.
The campaign, which the council spent $8000 advertising, focuses on two taglines: "Together we decided" and "together we’re delivering". It was designed to provide an update on projects scheduled for the year ahead.
On Wednesday councillors voted to approve the 14.2% average rates increase as part of adopting the 2025-26 Annual Plan.
The vote was five to three with Ellesmere Ward councillor Elizabeth Mundt, Springs Ward councillor Grant Miller and Malvern Ward councillor and mayoral candidate Lydia Gliddon voting against the plan.
Darfield Residents Association chair Harvey Polglase was not impressed with the campaign and said it was farcical the council did not recognise the need for consultation given the amount rates were increasing.
“We certainly did not decide, we were denied the opportunity to decide,” he said.
In November, councillors voted 8-2 not to have a consultation on this year’s rates rise. Instead they opted to “engage and inform”, which this campaign is part of.
The decision to forgo consultation also meant councillors were unable to make any changes to the wording in the draft annual plan beyond small tweaks.
Rolleston Residents Association chair Mark Alexander said he personally did not agree with the campaign.
“We haven’t decided anything – except not to consult the community in 2025,” he said.
Mayoral candidate and Malvern Ward councillor Lydia Gliddon said the campaign was “tongue-in-cheek” given there was no consultation on this year’s annual plan.
“The wording is not quite right when saying ‘together’ when we are ‘engaging and informing’.”
Gliddon, along with Springs Ward councillor Grant Miller, had voted in favour of holding a consultation.
Mayor Sam Broughton defended the choice of wording.
“I think we have talked to our community, and it has been very transparent. We had 1500 submissions to the Long Term Plan, which includes what we are delivering this year,” he said.
“So together we did decide to do all of the things we are continuing to deliver for our community.”
Broughton said it would be a waste of ratepayers’ money to have another consultation just a year after deciding on the Long Term Plan.
The last time the council skipped consultation in year two of a long-term plan was in 2019, when rates rose by 6%.
Gliddon and Ellesmere Ward councillor Elizabeth Mundt were surprised at the timing of the campaign which started a week ago – before councillors had approved the draft annual plan.
Broughton said he had expected the campaign to start tomorrow after the councillors had voted.
Council executive director of people, culture and capability Steve Gibling did not offer an explanation for the timing of the campaign when asked by Selwyn Times.
