A single building to house all of Whangarei's council staff - costing up to $36 million - may only be a matter of years away.
The building, along with a new theatre or performing arts type centre are the two special projects outlined in the pre-draft documents of the 2018-2028 Long Term Plan.
At a council meeting on Thursday, the council approved the documents to be reviewed by Audit NZ. The documents will be audited early next year.
After being reviewed, a consultation document will be put together and approved by the council before a public submission period from March 7 to April 8 next year.
In the initial documents, the planned "one building" project will cost $36m, spread across this year's annual plan and the first two years of the new plan.
The theatre would have $10.5m allocated in the new plan, but additional funding would be required. The two proposed special projects would be funded by debt, but over and above the net core debt.
Councillor Crichton Christie took exception to the projects being labelled as special, saying both the new building and the new theatre are part of core business.
"To me we are deceiving the public about what we are up against. It's core business - to say it's not, I'm at a loss."
Mayor Sheryl Mai took exception to Mr Christie's argument.
"We state special projects will be funded by debt. That's not deceiving, that's highlighting."
Councillors were in general pleased with the documents so far, and were keen to get as much feedback from the community as possible.
The council's purchase of the Whangarei RSA property on Rust Ave for $3.4m was settled last Friday.
When the sale was agreed in June, Ms Mai said the site's proximity to the library and Forum North gave the council good opportunities for consolidation in the precinct and could have several uses including carparking, a new theatre or new council premises.