Commissioners aim for zero increase for total regional council rates

Environment Canterbury’s Commissioners have begun working on the 2011/12 draft annual plan, aiming to cap the total rates dollars collected at this year’s amount.

“It is proposed that the total sum collected in rates by the regional council in the 2011/12 year, general and targeted rates, will remain at just over $74 million,” said Environment Canterbury Commissioner David Bedford, at this week’s council meeting.

“We asked management to reprioritise work programmes, to decide if Environment Canterbury is the most appropriate organisation to carry out particular roles and to question whether the regional council should continue to perform all its current functions.

“They have come back with a number of recommended changes, which we will be putting out for public consultation in March next year.”

Commissioners approved the changes in work programmes as the basis for detailed budgeting to go into the draft annual plan and noted the timeline for further development of the plan for 2011/12.

Management will now prepare more detailed budgets and prepare the draft annual plan between now and the end of January. Long term plan amendments which require auditing will be adopted in February with the public consultation period from March 14 to April 15, 2011. Public submissions will be heard early in May and decisions made on these at the end of May, ready for the plan to be adopted and rates struck June 23, 2011.