Council Approves Proposed 2025-34 LTP Consultation Document
The Gore District Council is seeking feedback on its proposed 2025-34 Long-term Plan Consultation document, which is out for consultation on Wednesday 2 April.
The Council today adopted its 2025-34 LTP Consultation Document, Our Journey Together, which details the work planned for the next nine years and how it will be funded.
All councils produce a Long-term Plan (LTP) every three years, with the community being asked to consider the Council's plans before they are put up for adoption at a Council meeting scheduled for 24 June.
Gore District Council Mayor Ben Bell said it was important people were aware of the plan and how it would impact the Gore District in the future.
"This Long-term Plan requires us all to work together. It's crucial that every resident understands exactly the situation we find ourselves in and the tough choices we need to make for our collective future," Mayor Bell said.
It was an opportunity for the community to have a look at how the Council was planning to work and spend, and then to give feedback, he said.
The document balances the challenges of depreciation, aging assets, rising wages, construction costs, interest and insurance costs and Central Government mandates with providing essential services, he said.
"We recognise these are challenging times for everyone, so as your elected members, we have scrutinised every service to ensure we're investing solely in what our community truly needs. This plan isn't about luxuries—it's about securing essential services that our people depend on daily," he said.
"We need to be honest, rates will go up. We've thoroughly examined every area of the budget for efficiencies and cost-saving opportunities, but we have to be sensible with what we spend today to not hinder those in the future."
The current proposal suggests debt funding operations to help reduce the impact of rates increases. Without debt funding, the rates increase needed for the Council to operate at a basic level would be 24.25%.
“We understand this amount is unacceptable to our community, so we are proposing to use debt funding to keep rates lower”
The preferred option in the document proposes using debt funding to limit the rates increase to 9.9%.
Other options to further reduce this figure include cutting events or selling assets, but the community will need to decide whether these are acceptable solutions.
There are many ways to provide feedback, including attending community engagement sessions, an online form, writing in or even sending video messages.
Consultation closes 5:00pm Friday 2 May. For a full list of consultation times and to read the document visit goredc.govt.nz/ltp25
