Introduction to the Annual Plan 2025/26

Introduction

Over the past year, as your elected representatives, we’ve continued to focus on being a financially sustainable council. The last rates increase was hard for many households. As a Council, we have heard this feedback.

We want to keep rates rises manageable, while still ensuring there is enough money to do the basics well. All proposals for the next Annual Plan have been developed with this in mind. We are rethinking the activities, locations, and operations of some of our business and tourist facilities. We are proposing to close the central Napier Library site from July until our new library opens in 2027. We want to increase some user-pays fees and charges beyond the Consumer Price Index. Some of these ideas mean we’ll have to make hard decisions. Before we do, we want to know what you think.

What we did in 2024/25

Last year you told us to make rates increases lower. Many of the decisions that we made in 2024 for our Three-Year Plan 2024-27 were to ensure the financial sustainability of Council. Some decisions reduced the needed rates increase for 2024/25 or are expected to reduce rates increases in future years:

Managing Council housing

Shifting our focus to delivering retirement housing only and funding this through selling our three social housing villages. We have now begun the process to increase retirement housing units and deliver the service more efficiently.

Managing Council’s investments

Establishing a council-controlled trading organisation (CCTO) to manage a commercially focused investment portfolio. Ahuriri Investments Management Ltd has been established and will begin operating from 1 July 2025. (Read more about this here.)

Fees and charges

Increasing some user-pays fees and charges beyond the Consumer Price Index increases, reducing rates support for these activities. Increases were made to parking fees and fees in some facilities.

Changing how we fund some tourist facilities

Council took the view that facilities that could operate commercially and self-sufficiently should do so. It agreed that from 2024 to 2027, the operating losses of Kennedy Park Resort, Napier Conferences & Events, and Ocean Spa would be loan funded. Borrowing will sit against each facility as we work to move them towards operating without ratepayer support. (Read more about this here).

Our Strategic Priorities