Annual Plan decisions, new GM welcomed, and key community updates

Published on 23 May 2025

Council agrees to summer kerbside collection changes

Our Council decided at its meeting on Tuesday this week to go ahead with reducing the frequency of kerbside collections over the peak summer period from this coming summer – cutting the second weekly pick up of rubbish and glass in our east coast communities. The decision was made as part of preparations for our 2025/26 Annual Plan.

The agenda for the meeting and recording of it are on our website.

Rubbish and glass will still be collected once a week in these areas, along with mixed recycling and food waste. Even with the coming change, kerbside collections from Whangamatā to Whangapoua will still be more frequent over the summer period than they are during the rest of the year, to cater to the high visitor numbers in the area.

Our analysis of kerbside collection volumes over the summer demonstrated that demand for rubbish and glass collections doesn’t warrant a second pick up of each. The change will also mean fewer truck journeys on our roads, lower carbon emissions, and reduced expenditure.

Collections elsewhere in the district will remain at their usual summer frequencies. Our peak period is from the week of Christmas to the week of Waitangi Day.

We’ll publish a summer collection calendar around the end of November or early December, so people can check out the new schedules in good time.

For our out-of-town visitors and bach owners, if the collection day for your area doesn’t line up with your visits, our seven Refuse and Recycling Transfer Stations are open daily over summer (except Christmas Day and New Year’s Day) from 8:30am-5:30pm. Our Whangamatā, Tairua, Pāuanui and Matarangi have after-hours facilities for dropping off rubbish ($5 per large bag in the compactor, household waste only please) and recycling including glass (free).

Top tip: If you generate a lot of glass recycling, you can buy a second glass crate from our Council service centres for $20. Note, we can only pick up a maximum of two glass crates per household. If you’re planning a special event and have lots of glass to recycle, please make arrangements to take your excess glass to one of our transfer stations.

At its meeting on Tuesday this week, Council discussed feedback received over the month of April on our Bin There, Done That proposal and decided in favour of it. 255 people or organisations provided feedback on the kerbside proposal, with 62% in favour, 35% against and 3% not sure.

The proposal was part of changes to budgets for the coming financial year in order to keep rates increases as low as possible. Because reducing kerbside collections to a part of the district for part of the year means a change in service, we wanted to ask the community’s views.

What’s behind rates increases?

Just like households, councils are faced with inflationary pressure. Except unlike households, we’re not buying groceries from the supermarket, we’re buying steel, piping and concrete (among other things) that have been going up in cost higher than the Consumer Price Index (CPI).

When the 2024-2034 Long Term Plan was prepared last year, our Council decided after community consultation that instead of a large rates increase in the first year of the plan (2024/25), that the rates increase should be spread over two years. This was done by not fully funding depreciation (money set aside to replace assets as they age and deteriorate). Now it’s time to phase in more funding of these depreciation costs, and that’s contributing to our rates increase.

There have also been some big changes to what central government is requiring from local councils in the coming months:

• The Local Water Done Well government reforms comes at a cost we hadn’t budgeted for, in order to prepare and consult on proposals for the future delivery of water services in the Coromandel. The timing of the change also means we had to renew our major water contracts for short periods rather than our usual multi-year periods. This cost us more.
• Roading – New requirements around speed limits requires us to find the money to change a lot of our road signage. We’re also still spending more on repairs after Cyclone Gabrielle and other storms.

We’ve changed the timing of some projects to help keep costs down this year to offset some of these unforeseen cost increases, and we’ve used some of our retained earnings to reduce the rates increase. This option won’t be available the following year (2026/27).

Fees and charges

Our Council also set the fees and charges for the coming year. Some of these will rise in line with inflation, or to accommodate increases in the cost of delivering the service being charged for.

One new fee is the $5 minimum weighbridge use fee at our transfer stations that have weighbridges. This means that if you’re dropping general waste or green waste, if your material weighs in at less than $5, you’ll be charged the minimum $5 fee. If you have a large bag of rubbish (60 litre) or a small bag (20 litres, the size of the old plastic supermarket carrier bags) you don’t need to weigh in. Just tell the kiosk operator you’ve got a bag of rubbish and you’ll be charged $2 per small bag or $5 per large bag. Our old blue Council pre-paid bags can still be dropped off at no charge.

Next steps for the Annual Plan

With the kerbside proposal accepted, Council staff will finalise the budgets. On 24 June our Council is scheduled to formally adopt the final Annual Plan, in time for the beginning of the financial year on 1 July.

Our schedule of fees and charges for the year will be available on our website from 1 July.

Pōwhiri for new GM Community Jeanette Wikaira  

On Monday, we gathered at Matai Whetū Marae, Kōpū, to welcome Jeanette Wikaira to the Group Manager Community role. 

It was a moving pōwhiri, Chief Executive Aileen Lawrie described Wikaira as a “taonga” our Council and district were lucky to have. 

Wikaira said her appointment was a return home to help serve the communities that raised her. 

Wikaira grew up in Thames with local family roots. 

Prior to Wikaira’s local government background, she held senior roles at the University of Otago and Auckland University of Technology and is currently chair of the Hone Tuwhare Charitable Trust, co-chair of the Dunedin Writers and Readers Festival, and a trustee of Manaia Marae. Her academic career spans more than 30 years. 

We’re excited to have Jeanette join our team and help strengthen the connections we have with our communities.

King’s Birthday Kerbside Update

Kerbside collections: There are no kerbside collections on the King’s Birthday public holiday on Monday 2 June. Collections for that Yellow week (food, glass, recycling) will be a day later than usual. Check your local calendar at www.tcdc.govt.nz/bindays.

Refuse and Recycling Transfer Stations: will be open as usual on the holiday Monday, from 8.30am-4.30pm. Find out where your nearest station is at www.tcdc.govt.nz/rts.  

For any queries, please contact our friendly Customer Services Team. 

Playground upgrade starting soon

Work on the new Hauraki House playground in Coromandel starts Monday 26 May.

We’re replacing the main play structure with new equipment featuring slides, climbing and balance elements. We’re also adding Matariki stacker logs for younger kids and a Pou climber for older ones. The swings and rockers will stay.

The upgrade should take about four weeks, with the opening planned for Thursday 19 June (weather permitting).

Please keep clear of the construction zone and follow all signs for your safety.

Thanks for your patience as we build a better play space for everyone. Keep an eye out for updates.

You're Invited: Celebrate our local Volunteers

National Volunteer Week honours the collective energies and mana of volunteers in Aotearoa New Zealand.

They grow our people, open minds and hearts, and create joy. Our community boards are leading local events which take place in June. This year’s theme is Whiria te tangata – weaving the people together. 

Volunteering is vital to help us build strong, connected, and resilient local communities.

We're inviting you to join us for a special event in your area to celebrate you and all the incredible mahi you do for your community.

Find out where your local event is and we'll see you there.

*Please rotate your phone to landscape orientation to view the full table.

Register here to secure your spot

Emergency mobile alert test

If you hear a loud alert on your phone on Sunday evening, don’t be alarmed. The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) is conducting a nationwide test of its Emergency Mobile Alert system between 6-7pm on Sunday 25 May. 

Check out these handy tips for what to do when a real alert comes through.

Project and roading updates

Pāuanui dune care planting

Adoptable dog of the week

The below dog is a male cross-breed, about 1 year old. Remi is a very sweet and gentle boy who loves to please. He can be shy at first but with some consistent love and attention, will come out of his shell.

Adopt Remi today

Come work with us

We offer a diverse range of career opportunities.  

Our current job vacancies are: 

• Roading Manager 
• Parks & Facilities Officer 
• Legal Counsel 
• Compliance Officer 
• Records Management Support Officer 
• Team Leader – Environmental Health 
• Library Assistant - Tairua 

If you are interested in working for us and there are no current vacancies that fit your skill set and knowledge, please head to our recruitment portal and register an expression of interest.