Regional Council considers submissions to Long Term Plan

19 May 2015

Bay of Plenty Regional Councillors are deliberating this week on 275 submissions and recommendations to the council’s Long Term Plan.

Councillors held four days of hearings throughout the region during April where submitters presented their opinions.

Council Chairman Doug Leeder said the two days of deliberations would give councillors an opportunity to consider and discuss feedback from residents about what was important to them, so important decisions could be made about funding and Council activities over the next 10 years.

“The funding for our work will continue to come from a mix of investment income, cost recovery, general rates, targeted rates and Central Government grants. Only about 20 percent of our work is funded through general rates,” he said.

The Regional Council’s Long Term Plan consultation document Thriving Together, which went out for consultation in late February, summarised key challenges for the Bay of Plenty and how they would be tackled. It proposed a total expenditure in 2015/16 of $107 million rising to $126 million in 2024/25.

“We have agreed on five key community outcomes that we want for our region – water quality and quantity, environmental protection, resilience and safety, regional collaboration and leadership and economic development. We have identified important choices for our communities, and have now listened to what people have to say.”

He said the Regional Council needed to consider changes to the work local government did, increasing costs of new infrastructure for areas losing population and changes to public transport demands. The Council planned to focus its investment on healthy soil and waterways and resilient communities.

The final Long Term Plan will be adopted by 30 June.

Ends

© Scoop Media