Kia ora from Kirsten Wise

Kia ora from Kirsten Wise

Te Kahika o Te Kaunihera o Ahuriri
Napier Mayor

After Cyclone Gabrielle, central government gave us a dispensation to prepare a three-year plan. Usually, we’d be setting out a work programme of ten years in a long term plan. Now we can really focus on a concentrated three-year programme that helps our community recover from the impacts of the cyclone and puts us on firm foundations for the years ahead. This is our chance to reconsider and significantly change the way we do things to benefit the wellbeing of everyone in Napier. The most important part of this plan is YOU. Your voice and your views will make this draft a solid road map for the three years ahead of us.

Our three-year plan sets out what we are going to deliver and how we will go about it. In this draft plan we are proposing an average rates increase of 23.7% in the first year. Included in this are funds that will be set aside so we can build our capacity to withstand and recover from challenges. This would be spent on activities related to emergency preparedness and projects that will improve our resilience.

Looking overall at this draft plan, it’s clear there are competing priorities that are pulling on our resources. Recovery from the cyclone is one, and this includes rebuilding assets, some of which we own with Hastings District Council, and resourcing property buy-outs. It also means building resilience into existing and future assets such as the work planned for the Wastewater Treatment Plant and the Awatoto industrial zone. We must also respond to the effects of climate change by planting along foreshores and waterways, and helping mitigate coastal erosion.

There are many factors contributing to our need to increase rates and you can read details about them in this document.

The most important thing is that we put in place strong foundations that mean Napier will have financial sustainability in the future.

This includes making full use of the resources we have including changes to how we manage commercial assets, like our investments and our visitor-focused facilities.

Zooming out, across New Zealand all councils are facing challenging financial situations and this year, many will propose significant rates increases to their communities. Across the board, there is an ongoing balancing act required to deliver best service to our community. Infrastructure is essential, and maintaining it is costly, with material and labour costs rising. Recovery too still requires significant resourcing. At the same time, we need to stay focused on the core services our community wants and needs from us. Creating an attractive and vibrant home for our residents and a desirable destination for our visitors is also important.

To strike the right balance, we need to rise to the challenges, not shy away from them. We must consider how to grow our assets and ensure they deliver an inter-generational return. This is the time to get the building blocks in place to firm up our foundations and focus on what we can do now to benefit future generations. This draft plan gives us an opportunity to rethink, adapt and be bold.