It’s ‘steady as she goes’ for Kaipara District Council after Deloitte reported their 2021-2031 Long Term Plan (LTP) provides a ‘reasonable basis for accountability to the community’.

Acting as independent auditors to the Council they completed a rigorous review of the Council’s plans, financial and infrastructure strategies, evidence, rationale and assumptions. In their opinion, the plan supports decision-making and coordination of Council resources.

Required under the Local Government Act, the report gives the Council, and the community, confidence that the Council is on the right track. However, the report is qualified, highlighting issues that could affect future Council activities.

An indicative cut in funding from Waka Kotahi, that was announced just before the LTP was approved in late June, initially created uncertainty around the Council’s ability to deliver on all its roading improvements. Recent announcements from Waka Kotahi regarding the approved 2021-2024 NLTP funding improved on earlier predictions and finalised funding has landed closer to Council’s requested budgets. While not all projects are to be funded, such as Pedestrian crossing upgrades and rural footpaths and LED lighting infills, the approved funding levels allows for maintenance and operation to existing levels of service.

Mayor Dr Jason Smith says the audit report also draws attention to other issues outside the Council’s control that may affect delivery of the plan.

“The Government’s Three Waters and local government reform could result in significant changes, which would affect the information the decade-long plan is based on,” says Mayor Smith. “We can’t know what that means for us yet.”

“Other things like labour or supply shortages could have an impact too. Some of this is due to COVID and some relating to the construction boom. It has already delayed some projects, like the Pahi wharf.”

The report also says the Council needs to continue to monitor the growth of Mangawhai and the subsequent impact on development contributions likely to be received. This is because Council plans on using development contributions to repay debt from the Mangawhai wastewater scheme expansion.

“It’s most efficient to develop the scheme just ahead of the growth. The number of resource consents issued gives a good measure of what is required. If growth is slower than anticipated, we can slow down the expansion to match the need. On the other hand, if Mangawhai grows faster than expected, we’ve already done the planning and can ramp up quickly.”

Council will respond to these issues as they arise, by doing an amendment to the Long Term Plan if needed which would be consulted on, or through the Annual Plan, which would be consulted on if changes are considered significant.

So, if you’re looking for a good read this weekend, you might check out the Council’s website for the Long Term Plan and understand how the Council is preparing Kaipara for the future.

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