Draft 2012 - 2022 Ten Year Plan

Welcome from Mayor Glenn Leach

We’re excited about the decade ahead but we know it won’t be easy. It’s our commitment to partner with communities and build a prosperous, liveable and clean and green district here on the Coromandel.

One of the themes of this Ten Year Plan is the impact of a lasting recession. We know the community is hurting, and we must face this situation. The recession (amongst other factors) has seen the revenue we expected to receive from development drop by 12%. We expect growth of only 0.1% - 1.4% per year in new rateable properties in the upcoming 10 year period.

Our intention is to build a stronger Coromandel through operational efficiencies, community empowerment and investing in economic development. It’s a balancing act to grasp opportunities for building prosperity while resetting our financial foundations.

We cannot launch forward with ambitious development aspirations without being confident in our financial base. You’ll see some significant changes as a result – a work in progress as we write this Plan.

Economic development remains a priority to us. Supporting the growth of the aquaculture industry, helping Destination Coromandel, supporting information centres and local economic development initiatives will return real value to ratepayers in the form of new jobs and greater business turnover. Rather than leading it ourselves by spending rates revenue we will foster a Council that helps the business community trade its way out of recession.

New infrastructure must still be considered in the decade ahead. From the Thames Valley and Matatoki water supply upgrades to the Pauanui and Tairua water treatment plants and Whitianga Town Centre upgrade, our focus is on quality, appropriate and affordable infrastructure. With the reality of the age of infrastructure in our towns, we must share the costs of these upgrades together.

This plan outlines some $324.9 million of capital expenditure. We’ve reduced a number of projects to channel funding into infrastructure renewal and have had to prepare for tough spending choices.

We encourage you to read through the Plan and give feedback to assist us with building a stronger Coromandel. 

Key proposals

Economic development

• We’ll increase financial support for Destination Coromandel and Local Economic Development Agencies
• We want to expand wharfing infrastructure to support the aquaculture industry
• We’ll change our Rates Remission Policy to encourage Economic Development

Essential services

• We’ll invest in new water supplies or treatment in Thames, the Thames Valley, Matatoki, Tairua and Pauanui

Big ticket items

• A town centre upgrade for Whitianga
• New sports facilities in Thames and Mercury Bay
• A new community centre in Pauanui
• A new swimming pool and skate park in Thames

Changes to fees and charges.

• Introduce charges for trade waste
• Introduce fees and charges at the Pauanui Airfield
• Increase dog registration fees
• Increase the cost of rubbish bags

Reductions or delaying projects

• A reduction in the level of service for the stormwater activity
• No new footpaths unless they attract a subsidy on safety grounds
• We’ll no longer provide funding for community owned and managed halls of Hikutaia, Kauaeranga Valley, Puriri, Matatoki and Wharepoa
• We are proposing to change the timing of a number of projects across a range of activities

Changes to the funding of ‘essential services’

To make things fairer, the draft plan proposes to change the funding of ‘essential services’ to a district-wide basis (not from local rates but paid from district rates). The definition of essential services are the water supply, wastewater, stormwater, district transportation (roads etc) and solid waste (rubbish services etc) activities.

Development Contributions Policy

Information on the proposed changes to this policy, can be found in the Development Contributions Policy section.

For more details about all of these proposed changes, please read the draft Ten Year Plan or the read the Ten Year Plan summary.

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Community information sessions