Council is calling on the Upper Hutt community to have its say on important issues affecting the city, Council services and future generations.

The Long Term Plan 2024 – 2034 (LTP), also known as the 10-year Plan, is one of Council’s most important documents.

It outlines what Council will do, how much it will cost and how it will be funded – including what rates need to be set at. Public consultation on the LTP will be open from 2 April – 2 May.

Mayor Wayne Guppy says Council is proposing a back-to-basics approach that delivers core activities, maintains infrastructure, and builds financial resilience.

“The financial environment we are operating in has changed dramatically,” he says.

“We’ve had to reprioritise the most important things for the future. In developing this LTP, we’ve prioritised balancing the budget and this will take time.

“With the exception of water assets, we’re proposing to lower operating costs, to contain costs in core activities, and reduce costs in non-core activities.

“We have looked at every service, programme, and project to find areas where spending can be reduced or deferred. This includes some proposed Council service reductions which we are seeking feedback on.”

While rates in Upper Hutt have been among the lowest in the country for some time, Mayor Guppy says It’s no longer financially viable to keep rates at the level they have been without infrastructure and facilities suffering.

“Council is proposing an average rate increase of 19.92% for each of the first three years (2024-2027). It’s proposed that this will drop over 2027-2034, resulting in an average rate increase of 9.22% over 10 years. This equates to around $13.62 a week,” he says.

“Our costs, like the rising costs businesses, community groups and households are facing, have increased on all fronts. Councils up and down the country are experiencing the same challenges.

“We must maintain our infrastructure and facilities on a tight budget while ensuring Upper Hutt remains a great place to live and work.”

Mayor Guppy says It’s more important than ever for our communities to have their say on important issues that impact everyone in Upper Hutt.

“This year, to help reduce costs, we will be printing LTP brochures and delivering them to all houses in Upper Hutt rather than full consultation documents. The brochures will direct residents to consultation documents and our Let’s kōrero website,” he says.

“As usual, our consultation document provides all the information needed to make informed decisions.” 

Consultation documents and other supporting material will be available online from 2 April and in hard copy from early April at Whirinaki Whare Taonga, Upper Hutt Libraries, and Upper Hutt City Council reception.

There will also be a number of engagement events for the community to kōrero with the Mayor and councillors about the LTP.

Information on where you can meet with councillors and have your say can be found at https://letskorero.upperhuttcity.com/ltp from 2 April.

This article has been reproduced from upperhuttcity.com

04/04/24