The Whakatāne District Council’s draft Annual Plan 2014/15 and draft Fees and Charges 2014/15 were formally adopted by the Council last week and will be released for public consultation on Friday, 21 March.

The 2014/15 financial year represents the third year of the Long Term Plan 2012-22 (LTP), and the draft Annual Plan includes details of any variances to the programme that was set out in the LTP. No major changes have been proposed, and the key principles of affordability, sustainability and responsibility remain unchanged.

Mayor Tony Bonne says that in developing the work-plan and budgets for 2014/15, the Council has endeavoured to strike an effective balance between rates affordability, maintaining service quality and delivering progress. “The draft plan will require an average rates increase across the District of 2.91 percent, and we are now asking the community to consider and give us their feedback on the approaches we are proposing,” he says. “The Council will then consider all of the submissions received before finalising the Annual Plan for the next year.”

As part of the consultation process, a summary of the information presented in the draft plan will be distributed to households throughout the Whakatāne District with the Bay Weekend edition published on 22 March 2014. Copies will also be delivered to Post Office boxholders and via Rural Delivery services. The summary and full documents will also be available from Council offices, libraries and online from 21 March, when the consultation process begins. Submissions must be received before 5 pm Tuesday, 22 April 2014.