Welcome to Horowhenua District Council's Long Term Plan 2024-2044 (LTP), adopted by Council on 26 June 2024. It reflects the results of the challenging choices Council has been required to make in the face of the challenging times Council and our community are experiencing.
The LTP describes the activities of Council, how they'll be undertaken, how these activities will be funded, and the benefits providing these activities will have on our community for the next 20 years.
Since 2018 Council has adopted 20-year LTPs (10 is the minimum). This is because of our district’s rapid population increase which means we need to enable project and budget planning to be set out over a longer period. It means the Long Term Plan and Development Contributions Policy have timeframes that align, enabling alignment of growth and projects and takes it closer to the 30-year period that the Infrastructure Strategy covers.
This LTP was developed when all of New Zealand was facing higher costs, uncertainty globally and reform in several key areas such as waters and resource management. The key topics this LTP addresses are the services our community needs, managing waste and sharing costs – who pays for what.
The LTP document sets out the detail about those key issues and the priorities and budget agreed for the next 20 years. It includes:
- Community Outcomes
- Activity Statements
- Infrastructure Strategy
- Financial Strategy
- Policies:
- Revenue and Financing Policy
- Rates Remission and Postponement Policy
- Remission and postponement of rates on Māori Freehold Land
- Prospective Accounting Policies
- Summary of Council’s Policy on Determining Significance
- Financial Statements
- Significant Forecasting Assumptions
- Working with Māori
- Audit Report
Horowhenua District Council Long Term Plan 2024-2044 | Te Mahere Tūroa 2024-2044(PDF, 70MB)
(Note: The web version has an interactive menu that appears on most pages and can be used navigate between sections.)
Topic 1 – Services our community needs: Council debated for some time before they were able to reduce the initial proposed average rates increase of 17.4% down to 16.6%. Fixed costs such as depreciation, insurance, interest and inflation make up the majority of the increase. The reduction to a 16.6% average rates increase is due to further savings found within Council, and includes the following changes:
| Proposed changes to services (Council’s preferred option) |
Proposed savings in $ terms |
Proposed savings as a % of rates |
Adopted savings in $ terms |
Adopted savings as a % of rates |
| Removing fund for Adverse Events/Emergencies |
$200,000 |
0.4% |
Not agreed |
|
| Increasing fees (by higher than the average) to meet the Revenue and Financing Policy target for Animal Control and other minor changes across the organisation |
$100,000 |
0.2% |
$100,000 |
0.2% |
| Closing Te Takeretanga o Kura-hau-pō, the Youth Space and Te Awahou Nieuwe Stroom on Sundays* |
$77,000
|
0.1% |
Not agreed |
|
|
Increasing parking meter fees from $1.10 to $2.00 to increase revenue
|
$100,000 |
0.2% |
$100,000 |
0.2% |
| Council will sell half our Carbon Credits |
$450,000 |
0.9% |
$450,000 |
0.9% |
| Increasing trade waste levies |
$214,000 |
0.4% |
$214,000 |
0.4% |
| Stop Urban berm mowing |
$240,000
|
0.5% |
$240,000 |
0.5% |
| Reduce Council’s investment in Waste Minimisation activities |
$100,000 |
0.2% |
$100,000 |
0.2% |
| Additional resolutions adopted |
| *Reduce hours at Te Takeretanga o Kura-hau-pō, the Youth Space and Te Awahou Nieuwe Stroom to achieve savings of $77,000. |
|
|
$77,000 |
0.1% |
| Council retain the fund for Adverse Events/Emergencies costing $100,000 |
|
|
$100,000 |
0.2% |
| Council endorses the inclusion of an additional $5,000 to establish gender neutral bathroom signage at our public facilities with any remainder of this funding being used to support our rainbow community. |
|
|
$5,000 |
+0.001% |
| Council approves a $20,000 placeholder over year 1 and 2 for the Horowhenua Community Camera Trust for infrastructure to enable an external co-funding grant. |
|
|
$20,000 |
+0.038% |
Topic 2 – Managing Waste: Council debated how to pay for Levin Landfill Aftercare and Landfill debt and agreed, by majority, to repay it through a separate Targeted Rate where every property pays the same rate (Option 1 consulted on). After a lengthy debate Council agreed that kerbside recycling services should be funded by transitioning to a Targeted Rate for kerbside recycling where those that are currently receiving the service pay their share of the costs (Option 2). Council supported the vision and goals of the WMMP.
Topic 3 – Sharing costs – who pays for what: Council agreed, by majority, to fund Te Awahou Foxton Community Board through a new targeted rate (Option 2) and to also fund Economic Development through a new targeted rate (Option 2).
Other policies updated
The Development Contributions Policy, Significance and Engagement Policy and Rates Remission and Postponement Policy were also updated:
Since August 2023 there were 29 Council Workshops and Meetings held in the lead-up to adoption of the LTP, including only two publicly-excluded Workshops. Together these informed and confirmed Council’s decisions about the issues that needed to be addressed through the Long Term Plan.
During the development of the LTP there was also extensive consultation and engagement. Early engagement took place between 16 October to 5 November 2023, checking with the Community about the proposed key themes, and any other matters that should be included. Feedback received showed 96 percent of respondents agreed with the proposed themes.
At the Council meeting on 13 December 2023 Council approved the scope of the Long Term Plan. That enabled consultation material and budgets to be prepared. It was agreed that the LTP address three key issues:
- Focusing on the basics;
- Being prepared for growth and future focused; and
- Reviewing the Waste Management & Minimisation Plan.
On 6 March 2024 Council approved the consultation document. Built around the scope in above, the consultation document identified and sought feedback on these key issues:
- What services are needed for our community
- Managing Waste
- Sharing costs – who pays for what.
The other Policies and documents Council sought feedback on through consultation process were:
- Development Contributions Policy
- Significance and Engagement Policy
- Draft Fees and Charges Schedule 2024/2025.
Formal consultation took place from 15 March to 15 April 2024. During these four weeks there were 34 events in Levin, Shannon, Foxton and Manakau, including five online events. We received a total of 499 formal submissions, including a number made by video. Council consulted widely and engaged with a much more diverse cross section of our community. An example of this is the 40% increase in submitters aged 25-35 years compared to the Long Term Plan 2021-2041 Amendment.
Following the submission period Council heard oral submissions on 1 and 2 May 2024. Deliberations followed on 22 May 2024. The final Long Term Plan presented for adoption the decisions Council made during the deliberations meeting.
On 26 June 2024 Council made its decision to adopt the Long Term Plan 2024-2044, and by doing that, adopted all of the components (eg policies, strategies and statements) that make up the Long Term Plan proper.