Whakatāne District Council has announced the adoption of its 2024-34 Long Term Plan has been delayed and will not be an item on the agenda at the upcoming 27 June Ordinary Council meeting.
The Long Term Plan, a critical requirement under the Local Government Act, serves as a comprehensive 10-year work programme and budget and includes specific funding and financial management policies and plans.
The primary reason for this delay is the coalition government’s about-face on Three Waters legislation late last year. The flow-on effect has been an extended independent audit process in the latter stages of plan development.
Typically, the audit of the Long Term Plan is conducted in two phases, with a significant portion occurring prior to public consultation. New options were presented to councils, allowing them to defer, delay or continue with Long Term Plan development with a post-consultation audit. Council opted to continue with existing timeframes to reduce the significant impacts that deferring or delaying would have on its communities. This has however resulted in a longer-than-usual audit process, impacting the adoption date.
The Council acknowledges that Audit New Zealand has a tremendous workload at present, condensing audits into very tight timeframes at the end of the Long Term Plan process. The audit process needs to be rigorous to ensure that all aspects of the Long Term Plan are carefully considered and vetted, ultimately providing the community with confidence in the reliability of the plan.
The deferred adoption date will be made available by public notice once confirmed.