At the latest Central Otago District Council meeting, in Cromwell last week, councillors wrestled with items to be added to the long-term plan, the cost of them to the ratepayer and the future implications.
The draft long-term plan consultation document has to be with Audit New Zealand by January 10 for an initial review.
It will then go to the council meeting on January 29 for approval before being audited in February.
The community will have their say from mid-March for about a month.
Central Otago Mayor Tamah Alley said it was vital ratepayers engaged with the consultation and made submissions on what they wanted the council to do.
Council business support group manager Saskia Righarts said the average rates rise was sitting at 23.4%. However, that included all items in the discussion paper.
Water, including who would look after the infrastructure and the price charged to users, swimming pools, halls and community grants were all passionately debated around the table.
New operational grants were received from the four community boards. Collectively totalling $1.5 million, they would contribute 2.86% to the rates rise if they were all accepted, Dr Righarts said.
Two were rejected — $250,000 for the Cromwell Sports Club, as there is a Cromwell racecourse recreation plan being developed that may affect the club; and $500,000 for the Cromwell Early Learning Centre to buy land and buildings to expand its services.
Those that made the consultation documents were not all unanimously agreed to.
Included in the long-term plan consultation document were the council taking ownership of the Roxburgh swimming pool (Cr Sally Feinerman abstained), grants for turf at both Maniototo Area and Dunstan High Schools (Crs Feinerman, Neil Gillespie, Cheryl Laws and Nigel McKinlay against), covering a funding shortfall for the Manuherekia Valley community hub (Cr Tracy Paterson abstained) and a grant to Highlands Motorsport Park to host V8 Supercars in 2026 (Cr McKinlay against).
Other items to go into the consultation document were two water items: increasing the cost of water from 60 cents a cubic metre to $2.40 (Cr Gillespie against) and moving Three Waters (drinking, waste and storm) to an independent entity — a council controlled organisation — from July 2027.
The items removed from the grants list reduced the forecast rates rise to 19.27%, Dr Righarts said.
Later in the meeting chief financial officer Paul Morris outlined options for funding water assets depreciation that could reduce the rates rise to under 7% by 2027.
