Council adopts Annual Plan for 2019/20 year
Taupō District Council’s Annual Plan for the 2019/20 year has been adopted and came into effect today.
A change in legislation means councils now only need to consult if there are significant variances from what was planned in the Long-term Plan and given the work programme is largely business as usual, consultation was not undertaken this year. The plan reflects year two of the Long-term Plan 2018-28.
Mayor David Trewavas said this year’s rates increase was set at 3.65 per cent which is slightly higher than the 2.67 forecast, but it reflected rising insurance costs and some urgent unbudgeted expenditure items the council faced in the last year, such as the asbestos discovery in Waiora House and its subsequent demolition.
However, there was still a busy works programme and plans to undertake a number of key projects across the district.
“Of note in Turangi and South Western Bays, we will be working alongside the Turangi Tongariro Community Board and Ngati Turangitukua to develop a gateway to National Park, extending the Te Kapua Park playground by the Turtle Pools and improving the water quality at the Omori water treatment plant,” said Mr Trewavas.
“In Mangakino, sports facilities are being developed and in Kinloch, we will be undertaking year two of a five-year project to design and build a new water treatment plant.,” he said.
“In Taupō, we will be widening a section of the Great Lake Walkway, upgrading the private pools at the AC Baths and upgrading the play space on Tongariro Domain.”
These projects were on top of the usual maintenance and renewals programme.
Mr Trewavas said from an economic development perspective, the district has continued to grow over the last 12 months and this was expected to continue.
“We have seen a steady increase in growth across our communities, and our visitor numbers remain high as do the number of events – large and small - that we host all-year round. This year we will also be undertaking significant planning as we gear up to host the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championships in November 2020 as this will give us a platform to showcase our district as never before,” he said.
“We look forward to working with our communities and key stakeholders over the next 12 months as we bring the Annual Plan to life. Together, we can ensure the Taupō District continues to be the heartbeat of the North Island as we work towards our vision to be the most prosperous and liveable district in the North Island by 2022.”
Ratepayers can see what the rates will be on their property for the 2019/20 year at http://eservices.taupo.govt.nz/properties/search.