Far North District Council - Annual Plan 2008/2009

Introduction

This Annual Plan sets out what Council is proposing to achieve in the year ahead, how much it will cost, and how you will be able to assess what progress is being achieved. It is intended as a basis for consultation with the Far North community and Council listened to your views before adopting the Annual Plan on June 17, 2008.

Council activities – looking ahead

Section 2 of the Annual Plan covers all Council activities and includes:

Details of recent progress achieved
Priorities for the year ahead
Revenue and expenditure estimates
Capital projects
Key performance indicators

To assist comparability the layout reflects the broad activity groupings in the Far North Future Plan, updated for changes in structure introduced by the new Council.

Other issues for consultation with this plan

The statutory requirement to consult the public on the Draft Annual Plan provided an opportunity for wider consultation on other issues, including significant changes to the Far North Future Plan(FNFP) i.e. Council’s long-term council community plan (LTCCP). These are detailed in Section 3 of this plan.

Financial information

Detailed financial information is included in Section 4 of the Annual Plan, along with rating information and example rates for different parts of the district. Cost pressures of around $6m are being managed through savings and expenditure reductions identified by Council managers. In addition to this, $2m of funding has been freed up for re-direction to infrastructure priorities to be identified by Council. The budget reflects Council’s intention to limit the increase in the average rate below inflation.

Statements of Proposal to the Far North Future Plan 2006/2016

As part of the consultation of this Annual Plan, Council consulted on the following amendments to the Far North Future Plan:

Council introduced a number of changes to its development contributions policy:

Rather than the district wide contributions which have been in place since the policy was first established in 2003, Council has set contributions at ward level.
Council has also abolished the separate Development Contributions Appeals Subcommittee.
Council abolished the requirement that when a business relocates from one site to another it will not be required to pay additional roading contributions unless there is likely to be a significant increase in traffic movements.
Council is also aware that many small businesses established in fully serviced towns have a minimal impact on the district’s infrastructure. Council is therefore considering requests from such businesses for a reconsideration of their assessed development contributions.
Council will in future index the adjustment factor used in calculating development contributions to the respective district wide percentage changes in land and improvement value arising from each triennial revaluation. Council will use these two percentages to increase the adjustment factor of land value from $60,000 to $122,000 and the development value from $120,000 to $140,000.
Council has agreed that residential car parking, which was previously taken as a separate contribution class, will be incorporated into the Community Infrastructure

Council also took the opportunity in this annual plan process to consult on the discontinuance of its rates discount policy.
Council has introduced a new rate as an amendment to the 2006/2016 Future Plan. This new rate, to be called the "Economic Development Rate", is to be charged as a targeted charge to all commercial property owners across the district. Its purpose is to support economic development in the Far North. For the 2008/2009 rating year, this rate will raise $45,000 and will be charged at $41.00 for every separately used or inhabited part of every commercial rating unit.
Council is proposing to reorganise the services currently provided by the Kaeo, Kawakawa and Rawene service centres. These centres are each used by an average of 14-20 people a day. Council believes that continued resourcing on the current basis is not sustainable over the longer term. Four options are discussed in the plan – status quo, closure, co-location with reduced staffing at libraries / local business, and building on services provided by Council. Council’s preference is co-location as broadly as possible to provide the best available services within resource constraints and where possible introduce new services (eg banking, post). Funding made available from re-organisation will be used for other district priorities and to achieve wider community benefit. Council intends to offset the impact of reorgansing these services by:
- Encouraging use of other customer service channels – co-location (with other council services e.g. libraries, local businesses, or other local facilities), kiosks, Council’s 0800 number, doing business electronically, cashless transactions and internet banking
- Using part of the funding released to improve service provision at other service centres (Kaikohe, Kerikeri, and Kaitaia)
Council also took the opportunity with this Draft Annual Plan to undertake a special consultative procedure (SCP) on the establishment of the Te Ahu Trust as a Council Controlled Organisation (CCO).
Further details of the outcome of these proposals are included in Section 3 of the Annual Plan 2008/2009 and can be viewed by clicking on the link below.