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Mayor Meng Foon

Tena koutou katoa, ki nga whanau o Te Tairawhiti.

3 years ago when we contemplated the Ten Year Plan, especially which projects would be proposed in the first 3 years, Council was aware of its commitment to the city's new wastewater treatment plant. It did not want to take on any further capital expenditure commitments, especially those that some people may see as 'optional extras'.

We are through those 3 years now and have managed well with a debt level $18 million less than forecast. We still need to be cautious but recognise that we can't keep putting things off for ever.

We want to look at investment in community facilities especially those that could occur in the next 3, and the next 10 years. The idea of investing in community facilities is to create that sense of place that attracts people here and also engenders pride in those of us who already live here. Typically, the library, parks and reserves, theatres, public spaces and recreational facilities are the aspects that differentiate our community from other communities.

Remember, putting a project in the plan is not legally binding. But if we don't put a project in the Ten Year Plan, we can't start at all.

While we look for specific feedback on these major projects, it's still business as usual for activities like roads, water and wastewater operations - they are a given.

New projects won't undo all the solid gains we have made to date. This early thinking about the next 10 years give the community a choice and helps Council sort out its priorities. We cannot afford all of these things. We need to decide the importance of these projects and which order to tackle them in. We need to ensure we have the resources to manage these projects too.

We have outlined out initial thinking here.

Ki ora, Meng

Planning for the 2012-2022 Ten Year Plan

The Draft 2012-2022 Ten Year plan is now open for submissions. Have your say before Friday 20 April 2012.

This page outlines the planning we did for the Draft 2012-2022 Ten Year Plan.

In June 2012 Council will adopt its 2012-2022 Ten Year Plan. This document will set out all Council’s work plans, projects and budgets for the next 3 years and outlines its general direction for the remaining 7 years.

We asked for your views to help our future plans

From August to October 2011 we asked you to “share an idea” on our future plans for Gisborne.

All your feedback was presented to councillors at the October Council meeting. Councillors will now consider the responses before the major project prioritisation meeting in late November.
Here's the report to the October Council meeting 2012-22 Ten Year Plan Early Engagement

We asked you:

what should Council stop doing or do less of?
what should we do more of?
are there any new areas we should get involved in?
which projects should be a priority for the district?
who should pay for what?

We also got you to share your views on which of the proposed major projects you thought should be a priority for the district. These included both community enhancement projects and essential infrastructure projects.

We asked you about the following community enhancement projects:

And 2 essential infrastructure projects:

This is what you told us

Overall there was good support for all of the above projects, the top 3 major projects were:

Walking and cycling extensions
Flood control schemes
Upgrading the HB Williams Memorial Library

This graph compares all major project responses to show the top 3 priorities:

Graph comparing major project priorities

Please note that this graph only shows the responses received via post, email or our website. The touch-screen survey responses were analysed separately.
Here's those graphs as part of the October presentation to Council. (1.27MB 12 pages)

There were also a lot of great new ideas for major projects:

Graph displaying new ideas for the 2012-22Ten Year Plan major projects

We also received a lot of feedback about the services council provides. The majority of feedback received on services concerned community development, roading and reserves. All feedback was given to activity managers for their draft Ten Year Plan activity management plans.

Council's decision on the transfer stations

Council's efficiency review committee suggested closing 3 transfer stations at Whatatutu, Te Puia and Tikitiki. Details about the proposed cost savings were provided when we met with the affected communities.

Council has decided not to go ahead with the proposal to close the 3 transfer stations.
Here is the full report on the Council’s decision -Solid Waste Proposals for Draft 2012-2022 Ten Year Plan

What happens now - important dates

Here's the timeline for developing our plan.

January - February 2012 - the draft plan will be finalised from all you feedback.

March - a Ten Year Plan Summary will be sent out to all households, asking for your feedback.

March/ April - we will have formal consultation on the draft plan. This will include community meetings, formal submissions and hearings. This will be our community’s chance to give its verdict on the proposed plan.

May - we will hold submission hearings over 3 days.

June - Council will adopt the 2012-2022 Ten Year Plan.

Who should pay for what?

Council is reviewing its Revenue and Financing Policy. This policy sets out who pays for what, where the money comes from and how it's spent. This process considers the major parts of each activity we do, who creates the need for it and who benefits from it.

This is our current revenue and financing policy

Presentation - March 2011 Revenue and Finance Policy Workshop. (1.68MB 37 pages)

Targeted consultation on the policy will be carried out but if you have any suggestions let us know, otherwise watch out for the new policy when the draft Ten Year Plan's released in March.