Opinion: Stratford mayor Neil Volzke says it's time to have your say

Submissions on the draft LTP close on May 2 this year.

Every three years council is required to review and update the Long Term Plan. It is a massive undertaking which started more than 12 months ago and involves reviewing almost every major document in our system. The end product will be around 1300 pages long and for many of you, may just be the sleep aid you are looking for. But in all seriousness, that is why we publish an abbreviated version called the Consultation Document which highlights the key issues council is trying to address.

Stratford mayor Neil Volzke is calling for people to make submissions on the draft Long Term Plan.

We need good feedback from the community, both supportive and critical of the council's preferred options. The Long Term Plan is our single most important guiding document and I encourage you to participate in the consultation.

There are some gnarly issues to deal with including water conservation and metering. There are times each year when the lack of water in the Patea River severely limits the amount we are permitted to take from it. This is likely to get worse. Using our available water more efficiently will help prevent future shortages and further delay the need to find new water sources, a very expensive and difficult exercise. Often touted as the solution is increased storage capacity, this would help, but it is definitely not the silver bullet we need and doesn't reduce water use.

Council's preference is to install water meters. There is strong evidence nationally and locally that where meters exist, consumption drops significantly; potentially up to 25 per cent. That is the magnitude of conservation we are looking for. In addition, council is looking to change the way we charge for water, with a savings incentive for people to use less water and a cost for those who use excessive amounts. This change is not a money grab by council. The total revenue returned to council will be much the same as the current charging system. Let's not lose sight of the fact that this whole discussion is driven by the need to conserve water and reduce consumption.

Another key issue highlighted in the plan is green waste and food scraps that together make up 41 per cent of the total tonnage currently going to the land fill. Measured by volume per property, Stratford is by far the worst performer in the region. But we can address this substantially by introducing a regular combined green waste and food collection service. There's no doubt that diverting this waste from the landfill to a composting facility is an environmentally sound thing to do. But there is a cost for the proposed new service and council is trying to gauge the support for this.

Following the success of the council's recent residential subdivision, we are proposing to do something similar in the next three years. Detail is available in the Consultation Document but for those wanting to cut straight to the chase, it will not be a cost burden on ratepayers. Like before, all costs will be recouped from the section sales.

Please submit now, we want to gather as much feedback as possible.