The Cromwell Community Board has slashed the ward's forecast 54% rates increase for 2009-10 to 34% but members are not happy and want more cuts.
The board met all day on Monday to discuss the board's 10-year plan and adjourned at 7.20pm with some work still to do.
It has resolved to meet again to discuss the budget on February 13.
Chairman Neil Gillespie said yesterday Central Otago District Council staff would come back with further options for reducing the level of expenditure.
Mr Gillespie said he was not happy with a 34% rates increase in the next financial year, which would effectively mean someone paying $1000 in rates now getting a $1350 bill next year, because ratepayers would be unlikely to see anything for their money or any change in the level of service.
The rates increase was not being driven by any specific project and mainly resulted from districtwide revaluations last year, requiring the council to set aside more money to offset asset depreciation, he said.
"It is very difficult to justify it to people. We must look at what we have to achieve, find better, smaller, cheaper ways of doing it," Mr Gillespie said.
However, there would also be future consequences of not undertaking projects, particularly when Cromwell was growing and the infrastructure was coming under pressure, he said.
The board had pulled marketing programmes for Cromwell's new swimming pool out of the budget and reduced the amount it was prepared to pay for pool heating, Mr Gillespie said.
The board had also indicated it did not want to contribute heavily, at least in the next year, to an infrastructure assets management programme or a wastewater treatment upgrade project.
At least $9 million had been set aside over 10 years to build a wastewater system to dispose treated waste to land.
The Otago Regional Council considers the discharge of treated waste to Lake Dunstan is no longer acceptable.
The initial design and consent phase of the project is expected to begin after June.
An upgrade of the Bannockburn Hall and the construction of new bores in Anderson Park also seem likely to go ahead next year.
Water metering is also likely to be introduced across the ward, requiring people to pay for the amount of water they use.
Mr Gillespie said metering would be fair and equitable but was likely to be an emotive topic for public debate.
