The draft 2017/18 Annual Plan financial forecasts received by the Whakatāne District Council’s Policy Committee last week indicate that the average rates increase and debt and debt servicing parameters for the next financial year are likely to be within the limits set in the Council’s 2015-25 Long Term Plan (LTP) and financial strategy.

Committee chairperson, Deputy Mayor Judy Turner, says the indicative rating increase anticipated for 2017/18 in the LTP was 3.55%, but a number of changes in the draft financial forecasts for the year should mean the actual increase across the District will come in well below that figure.

”There are always positive and negative changes when forecasts are made three years ahead, and in this case, there are a number of influences which should reduce the average rates increase for the District,” she says. “These include lower interest rates, reduced debt principal repayment costs arising from changes in the timing of capital projects, reduced costs associated with solid waste services, and the use of a $200,000 waste rate reserve balance to offset the rates requirement.”

Partially offsetting those factors is the need to repay overdrawn reserve balances for water supply schemes, funding for the community vision project and additional costs associated with the Museum redevelopment project.

Meanwhile, total Council borrowing is expected to be approximately $68 million, well below the financial strategy limit of $75 million, while the percentage of rates revenue used to pay interest on debt was expected to be just over 10%, well below the 12% limit.

The Council will meet on 8 March to consider the draft budgets and proposed rates costs and debt figures for 2017/18. The Council will also decide whether a formal consultation process should be undertaken on the draft budgets, following changes to the Local Government Act which mean consultation is only required if material changes are proposed to the programme set out for the relevant year in the Long Term Plan.