Eighteen new citizens were welcomed to New Zealand and to the Whakatāne District in a ceremony held at the Whakatāne Civic Centre on Tuesday, 13 June 2017. 

The Whakatāne District Council has signed a conditional contract for the sale of its property at 77 Bunyan Road.

Whakatāne District Council’s paper-based property files are undergoing digitisation. The extensive file archive comprises 32,000 files and an estimated 5.5 million documents.

Applications to the Whakatane District Mayoral Relief Fund are now open. Any Whakatāne District residents affected by flood or storm damage as a result of the April cyclones are eligible to apply to the fund for financial assistance.

Task Force Green crews in the Whakatāne District are making great progress cleaning up flood and storm damage on rural properties.

A major upgrade to the McAlister Street stormwater pump station has reached its final stage, with modifications to the existing pump house structure being undertaken over the next four months. This follows the installation of a new 20-metre long box culvert through the stopbank that was completed during the summer.

Additional costs relating to flooding and storm damage caused by cyclones Debbie and Cook last month will add close to 1% to rates costs across the Whakatāne District for the 2017/18 year, taking the average increase to 3.9%.

The Whakatāne District Council has approved a Draft Combined Waters Bylaw and initiated a formal public consultation process,