Message from the Mayor

Published on October 06, 2023

Kia ora koutou,

Council is working on the next Long Term Plan and it's a big deal for us. This plan sets the stage for what we'll be focusing on, mapping out the services and projects we're going to provide, how much they'll cost, and how we plan to pay for them.

We need your input too! It's vital for as many of our residents as possible to play a role in shaping the future of our district. What Council does or doesn't deliver impacts you and our district as a whole.  Over the next few weeks we'll share more about our district's opportunities and challenges. We need to know what's important to you, your thoughts and ideas – basically, have we got the focus right, and is anything missing that matters to you. This is the early part of shaping what Council focuses on for the LTP, so let's figure out together our top priorities for Horowhenua. It matters, so please be involved.

Engaging with our community is key for us. We're always working on better ways to communicate and engage with you. Recently, we even joined TikTok to connect with the younger crowd. We noticed they weren't as involved as we'd like in local government stuff, so we're changing that. Our aspiration is to involve more of our rangatahi in the submission-making process, decision-making, community action dialogues, and various facets of local governance.

To further facilitate interaction, we've introduced Antenno, a free mobile app designed to keep you connected with the Council and the community. It provides notifications and alerts on topics that matter to you, such as major water outages, roadworks, closures, consultations, and more. Moreover, you can use Antenno to report Council-related issues, suggest improvements, or provide feedback directly through the app. If you haven't already, head over to Google Playstore and AppStore to download it.

As daylight saving extends our days and in anticipation of the December holidays, construction of the new Waitārere Beach Surf Life Saving Community Facility is nearing completion and looking impressive. Stay tuned for details about the opening day. The new Foxton Pool development is also getting on nicely, the roof is going up and will soon be accessible to our community year-round.

The chance to vote in a General Election only happens every three years so make sure you take up the opportunity to have your say in how our country is governed. Voting in the General Election is now open, and you should receive your easy vote card this week. You can vote at any voting place in New Zealand from now until 7pm on 14 October.

If you haven't yet enrolled to vote, it's not a problem. You can enrol and vote simultaneously at a voting place, or enrol online before you vote. 

While you're out and about, as you drive through Foxton at night, you'll notice the Foxton Water Tower adorned in pink and blue lights in support of the Global Wave of Light during Baby Loss Awareness Week from 9 to 15 October.

Until next time.

Bernie Wanden