In his "state of the district" speech to Oamaru members of the Otago Chamber of Commerce this week, Mr Familton, who has just completed his first year as mayor, was confident those effects would not fully impact upon his district.
Inevitably, there would be some problems, and some people would feel the pinch, particularly those on fixed incomes and those who had invested in finance companies and the sharemarket.
Mr Familton acknowledged the council had to be aware of the effect of rates on its ratepayers.
The Shand report on rates, the result of a Government-appointed inquiry, warned that the burden would be unaffordable for many home owners within a decade. That would become more pronounced with the recent financial turmoil.
"Many are having difficulties now on fixed income and businesses and farms are now faced with ever-increasing demands," he said.
However, Mr Familton pointed out people in the district tended to be relatively conservative in the way they invested and, along with development - including dairying and irrigation - he was optimistic the district would flourish in the future.
He believed that by 2016 there could be another 2000 people living in the district, if irrigation continued to expand, Holcim (New Zealand) Ltd built its cement plant at Weston and dairying and horticulture continued to develop.
The mayor noted benefits from the new North Otago Irrigation Company's scheme were flowing into the community and he said he was confident the $10 million the council had loaned to help build it would be repaid.
"Fifty years out, it will be seen as the decision of the century," he said.
Other issues touched on by Mr Familton included industrial development, the Oamaru harbour, the water upgrade and the opera house redevelopment in Oamaru.
