On Tuesday 13 June, Stratford District Council adopted its Annual Plan 2023/24 after considering public feedback. Some amendments to proposed Fees and Charges were made, and Councillors agreed to provide an in-house Learn to Swim service. Details of these decisions are provided below.
The proposed rate increase of 8.9% was confirmed as part of this adoption. The actual increase for each ratepayer will vary depending on the different rates charged to that property. We’ve provided some sample rates at the end of this update.
District Mayor Neil Volzke says feedback received highlighted the balancing act Council juggles with when reviewing the annual budget. “Some people are happy to see user charges increase in areas because they don’t use the service, but people using the service of course don’t want to see fees increase – it’s a common issue and one Council has to try and draw a happy medium from,” he says.
“We’ve done a lot of work to reduce the rate increase to 8.9% from the starting figure of 16.5% we faced earlier in the year. And we understand that still won’t be low enough for many. I encourage anyone who is concerned about making payments to talk to our staff about the options available to support.”
Learn to Swim Service
In response to the current swim school provider leaving Wai o Rua – Stratford Aquatic Centre from the end of Term 2, Councillors discussed possible options to move forward and collectively decided to bring the service in-house.
Mayor Volzke says Council believed they had a social responsibility to ensure children in the district could learn to swim.
“We had three options to talk through: doing nothing, delivering the service in-house, or finding an alternative external supplier. When it comes to the safety of our kids, doing nothing wasn’t a viable option, and Council felt that our staff at Wai o Rua – Stratford Aquatic Centre would be able to provide a learn to swim service from the beginning of Term 3.”
More details on the learn to swim service starting Term 3 will be available before the end of June, once the team have worked through the finer details. We ask that people be patient while this service gets up and running. You can also keep an eye on waiorua.govt.nz or their Facebook page for details in the coming weeks.
Changes to Fees & Charges Schedule
Swimming Pool
Library and Visitor Information Centre
All other proposals as part of the draft Annual Plan were adopted as is. This included amended fees and charges under Dog Registrations, Cemeteries, Building Services and Health Licences, and an increase in the money collected through the Roading Targeted Rate Differential for forestry properties at $250,000 per year.
The Annual Plan 2023/24 will come into effect from 1 July 2023. The full Fees & Charges schedule is attached here.
How much rates you pay can depend on a number of things like: