Our budget to heal and repair

This is a no-frills budget focused on delivering our core services along with paying for the big-ticket items as we build back stronger for the future.

We’ve done this by carefully managing debt and spending. We’ve been mindful of affordability by smoothing the impacts of rate rises to future years as much as possible.

We also don’t want to ‘max out the credit card’ when it comes to the amount we’re prepared to borrow. We need to save for a rainy day and be prepared for more severe weather events to come.

We’re spending the government’s funding on our recovery projects, and we’ll continue to apply for more money.

Beyond the life of this plan we still require considerable investment in our broken infrastructure.

Rates increase explained

We’re proposing a maximum rates increase of 11.4% in the 2024/25 financial year.

The total revenue we'll collect from rates will be:

• $84.3m in 2025, $92.9m in 2026 and $101.2m in 2027.

7.9% keeps up with the rising cost of inflation to pay for the core every day services such as roading, water services, township upgrades and clearing drains.

3.5% is an additional recovery rate to cover costs arising from Cyclone Gabrielle. For most ratepayers this equates to an additional $82 in 2024/25.

The new recovery rate includes:

• Future of Severely Affected Land (FOSAL) costs for the voluntary property buyouts for homes identified in this category.
• Increased flood protection across our region.
• Increased response for silt removal from our drains and large wood debris from the water catchments.

Average household rates are set at the lowest level possible to keep Tairāwhiti moving forward, while responding to our significant recovery issues.

Dealing with debt

Our strategy is to set our debt cap at 175% of our income. We’ll only borrow what’s required to fund our major projects, and only when it’s needed.

Debt is set to peak at $248m over the next 6 years. This is up from $150m projected in our previous Long Term Plan.

Most of the increased debt has been driven by recovery infrastructure projects, such as FOSAL Category 2 and 3, roading and resilience for our drinking water, wastewater and stormwater.

In forecasting debt over the next 6 years we've assumed Three Waters services remain within our control.

What your rates will pay for

With a maximum rates increase of 11.4%, on average, a household will pay around $75 per week for activities and infrastructure we provide every day.

How much you pay depends on a number of factors such as:

• Any change to the value of your property. Rate revaluations were completed in 2023.
• Services your property is rated for.
• Changes to the amount we charge for services.