Rotorua ratepayers facing increase of $6

Rotorua ratepayers face an annual general rates increase of $6 after the Bay of Plenty Regional Council adopted its 10-year plan. The increase is the third highest in the Bay of Plenty region with Western Bay of Plenty ratepayers paying an extra $9 and Tauranga ratepayers facing a rates rise of $7.

Those living in Whakatane and Opotiki face a $3 rates rise while ratepayers in Kawerau won't face any increase.

Council chairman John Cronin said the council had made some hard decisions during recent deliberations to ensure the plan kept rates to an affordable level for ratepayers.

Before changes were made the proposed general rate increases in the draft plan had been up to $29 for Western Bay of Plenty residents, Mr Cronin said.

"Two days of deliberations confirmed our priorities for the region and identified where efficiencies could be made."

The 10-Year Plan 2012/2022 was adopted late last week.

"We have worked hard to keep any increase realistic while maintaining the wide range of services we provide to our communities," Mr Cronin said.

"We asked for feedback on our draft plan in March and received 181 submissions on it and related policies and 126 survey forms. During three days of public hearings in May we heard from 84 groups, organisations and individuals," he said.

"We've listened to our communities and made some changes accordingly."

Rotorua lakes was one of the biggest topics discussed in submissions. The council agreed to spread funding of $45.5 million for nutrient reduction over the 10 years of the plan and to work with partners on how to reduce nutrients from land use in a cost-effective way, he said.

The council agreed to provide $50,000 to Opotiki District Council for flood modelling in the next financial year and $530,000 the following year for geotechnical work and detailed design assessments and costings for the Opotiki Harbour Transformation project.

Another $200,000 will go to Tauranga City and Western Bay of Plenty District councils to help with the capital costs of sealing Oropi Road to protect a municipal water supply.

Tauranga Environment Centre's Enviro-Hub will receive $27,300. A review of the Regional Waste Strategy will also be funded with $50,000.

The budget for Maori capacity conferences will be increased by $25,000 and an extra $20,000 added to the existing hapu and iwi resource management plan budget each year.

"We've confirmed our priority projects during the next 10 years, including Tauranga harbour, Rotorua lakes and Rotorua air quality," Mr Cronin said.

Other priority projects included regional infrastructure, pollution prevention (contaminated sites), passenger transport in Tauranga and Rotorua, and rivers, drainage and flood management.

"We've made changes to the Rotorua lakes and Kaituna rediversion programmes, and adjusted the Environmental Enhancement Fund," Mr Cronin said.

The council has also amended the funding ratio for Rotorua air quality work so that half of the money was coming from targeted rates and half from general rates.

The council had committed to savings of $750,000 over three years from the start of the 2013/2014 financial year.

Other items included in the plan:

Allocating direct funding from the Regional Infrastructure Programme in year one to sewerage reticulation in Hinehopu/Rotoiti ($695,000) and Hamurana/Awahou ($946,000) and culverts under the Tauranga Eastern Link ($2.6 million) to retain development opportunities for existing business-zoned land outside the urban limits.

Re-allocating the budget for investigations and consenting for the Kaituna River re-diversion to the Ongatoro/Maketu Estuary over three years instead of two, deferring starting construction from Year Three to Year Four, and decreasing the overall capital budget.