Dunedin City Council staff say new funding is required if councillors want to deliver on all of the goals in the Otepoti Live Music Action Plan.
This could include funding two staff positions to co-ordinate and deliver the plan which, if approved, would set the council back another $137,257 each year for the next nine years.
Councillors will be presented with a draft Otepoti Live Music Investment Plan, to be considered for consultation as part of its nine-year 2025-34 plan, at council meetings this week.
The action plan was adopted by the council in September 2023, designed to support sustainable creative practices and the development of Dunedin’s live music community.
It was accompanied by a 36-point implementation plan that lists priorities for action into 2026.
A report by staff said a total of 26 of these action points were under way or had been completed and were covered by current 2024-25 budget provisions — but the remaining 10 required direct investment or a decision by council.
Two of these actions required new funding.
One involved the research and pilot of pre-approved resource consent packages for green spaces in the city, listed at $4000 a year for a three-year pilot.
The other involved two staffing positions to co-ordinate and deliver the plan: a creative partnerships project co-ordinator, with an annual salary of $46,571, and a new creative adviser position with a salary of $90,686 — costing the council a combined total of $137,257 a year over nine years.
The current budget provided for $28,000 a year, a total of $252,000 over nine years, with the new funding request bringing the total budget for the plan to at least $165,257 a year, or close to $1.5m over nine years.
"The adoption of the Ōtepoti Live Music Action Plan in 2023 was welcomed by creative and other communities," the report said.
"This was accompanied by a strong desire to see the action plan funded appropriately."
The option of approving the draft investment plan for consultation would mean Dunedin’s music ecosystem received the support promised by council and met community expectations.
Staff resourcing would also be in place to enable the sustainable and effective implementation of the plan.
If councillors chose to retain the status quo, implementation of the remaining actions would be further delayed and staff resourcing would be insufficient for current operations, the report said.
"Other than business as usual, action plan operations will be scaled back to ensure staff wellbeing and adequate support for other creative communities."
Given budget constraints, four of the remaining action points could be supported by the future reallocation of grants funding.
As final options and levels of financial support would depend on future council decisions about grants funding, no final investment options and amounts were listed.
The final four action points were medium to long-term in scope and investment options would be developed as part of the council’s grants review.
