Staying the course: your 2025/26 Annual Plan check in

Published on 26 June 2025

At its Tuesday 24 June meeting our Council adopted the 2025/26 Annual Plan, setting its programme and the rates needed to fund it for the financial year starting 1 July, and confirming that the average district-wide rates increase will be 7.7%, as forecast in the 2024-2034 Long Term Plan (LTP).

The Annual Plan adoption also confirms the move to weekly (instead of twice-weekly) summer rubbish and glass collections for our eastern communities, which we asked our communities about in April.

The Annual Plan process allows our Council to update the LTP to adapt to changing circumstances that have affected our budgets and forecasting for this coming year (year two of our LTP).

Check out our 2025/26 Annual Plan here

Despite unforeseen costs, we're sticking to the plan

In the face of rising costs and new governmental requirements for local councils that come at a price to implement, we’ve stuck to the average 7.7% district-wide rates increase we signalled for Year 2 of our LTP.

Preparations for the Local Water Done Well reforms and new requirements from the drinking water regulator Taumata Arowai have pushed up short-term costs and water charges beyond what we originally forecast.

We’re also dealing with the government’s changes to roading funding and new rules for speed limits, requiring us to update our speed signage and adjust our project budgets and timings. On top of that, there are ongoing repairs from Cyclone Gabrielle and other weather events.

Here's how we've made it work: 
•    Deferring some projects planned for 2025/26
•    Using some of our retained earnings
•    Increasing eligible fees and charges by the rate of inflation
•    Adjusting the capital works delivery expectations to 75% of our total works programme* 
•    Reducing the frequency of peak period kerbside collection of rubbish and glass recycling along the Eastern Seaboard for the 7 weeks from Christmas to Waitangi Day. Collections will move from twice weekly to once weekly, to be implemented this coming summer; and
•    Finding savings across other activities.

*This is the assumption of how much of our capital works programme we’ll deliver in a given year. It’s usually not 100% because unanticipated issues can affect projects. The LTP assumes 80% programme delivery. Reducing this to 75% aligns closer with historic delivery levels while also providing an appropriate buffer for increases in this delivery rate. This reduces the expected interest and depreciation costs associated with the current year’s capital programme that are carried into the Annual Plan year.

Check out your rates for the 2025/26 financial year using our online rating database.

Above: Pūriri water treatment plant preparatory works

Some key works projects we've budgeted for in 2025/26 include:

• Extending the roading, water and stormwater services at Tōtara Valley Road, Thames, to enable residential development
• The new Whitianga Refuse and Recycling Transfer Station
• Whitianga Wharf safety and operational improvements
• Replacing the Whitianga Wharf pontoon
• Resurfacing the Hauraki House carpark, Coromandel
• Ngarimu Bay Playground renewal
• Continuing work on the Thames South drinking water improvements, Pūriri
• Whangamatā stormwater improvements
• Whangamatā Heatherington Rd rising main
• Changes to school speed signs across the district (legally required)
• Improvements to Snake Gully road area, Hāhei (funded by the Crown for storm resilience)
• Matarangi wastewater treatment plant upgrade
• Matarangi stormwater improvements
• More work to recover from the July 2023 storm event 

2025/26 Fees and charges

In May, the Council confirmed the updated fees and charges for the 2025/26 financial year. Some changes reflect inflation or higher service delivery costs.

Key rubbish and recycling changes from 1 July: 
•    Pay As You Throw (PAYT) rubbish tags for kerbside collection increase by 25 cents to $8.25. Your old tags can still be used after 1 July.
•    We’re introducing a new $5 minimum charge to use weighbridges at Refuse and Recycling Transfer Stations that have them. This covers the servicing and annual calibration costs. If you’re dropping general waste or green waste that weighs in at less than $5, you’ll be charged the minimum $5 fee. 
•    60L bags of rubbish (the standard black bag size) stay at $5 and small 20L bags (the size of the old supermarket carrier bags) stay at $2 per bag to drop at transfer stations.

Check out updates to fees and charges for all our services at tcdc.govt.nz/fees

More information

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