Mayor encourages community to have their say on plan

Community input into the Long Term Plan is the opportunity for council to listen to the voice of its ratepayers, says Lower Hutt Mayor Ray Wallace.

“I am always out listening to the voice of the people and the consultation on the Long Term Plan is a good opportunity for people to have their say.

“There has been a strong response already with the closing date of May 16 looming close.

“Based on the proposed plan, we will be making decisions that will have an impact over the next 20 years.

“This year we are looking at spreading the cost of rates. We want to spread the rate revenue more evenly. We want it to be more fairly distributed between residential, business, utility and rural ratepayers. Everyone shares in the cost of running our city and projects that will improve our city.

“There has been discussion on future governance of local authorities including the idea of one council for the whole region with 10 local boards to look after local services.  A number of other possibilities are also being considered. These include collaborating across all councils through shared services.

“Our belief is that our community should be consulted on what they would wish to happen and that we seek feedback on the best way forward.

“We are currently talking about representation and the place of community boards and community committees. This will include a meeting late this month with the council and representatives from all the committees and boards that serve our region.

“This reinforces our determination to ensure that the voice of our community is considered when making decisions about the future of our city,” he says.