Viewpoint – Community funding in focus

Kaipara District Council is working on its Long-Term Plan (LTP), and elected members are weighing up which services, facilities and infrastructure to prioritise and how to pay for them.

The LTP is Council’s key planning document, setting the strategic direction, work programme, costs, funding approach and performance measures for the next ten years

Council are currently working on the LTP 2027–2037, following feedback from around 750 people on issues including roads, waste, parks, open spaces and facilities.

This gave us a great opportunity to meet and engage with residents across the district, and it comes at a time when most people are trying to balance needs and wants with affordability pressures.

Affordability and not overburdening ratepayers are at the forefront of our minds as we work through this process.

Our key focus is ensuring our funds stretch as far as possible while getting maximum benefit for ratepayers. We are mindful of any new requirements from central government, the costs of implementing them, and how the proposed rates caps will affect our ability to deliver the services and infrastructure communities want.

Alongside long-term investment in core services, community funding continues to support local groups delivering practical benefits across Kaipara. Council grants assist community organisations to develop and maintain facilities and run activities.

The large number of grant applications shows the financial pressures communities face. This is a real challenge and requires careful consideration of how we allocate limited funds to get the most benefit across the district.

Long-term planning requires choices about roads, stormwater, solid waste, parks, libraries, public toilets, walkways and community facilities. Many community groups have attended Council meetings to present ideas they hope to include in the plan. The big challenge is balancing the costs. Our roading alone takes up the lion’s share of our available funds.

In Kaipara, we are working with ground conditions and soil types prone to movement, making road maintenance challenging and costly. Our teams are always looking at ways to achieve the best results in the most cost-effective way.

Formal consultation on the LTP 2027–2037 is planned for next year. In the meantime, elected members will have further discussions at our LTP briefings to develop the draft LTP and decide what to include for public consultation.

There is certainly plenty to think about and a lot to look forward to!