Rattling the Chains

CHB Mayor Alex Walker

Swathes of Aotearoa New Zealand ticked the “change” box at the recent local government elections, and new mayors and councillors across the map have hit the ground sprinting to get up to speed with briefings, budgets, and working styles.

We’re lucky that we can skip most of that learning curve. Our Central Hawke’s Bay councillors are strong and experienced governors, and they’re committed to working together even when - I should say particularly when - they disagree, or when issues are tough.

Central Hawke's Bay District councillors out in their high-vis on a project site.

This is a good thing, as strong economic and financial headwinds continue to build, and we need to be ready for them.

We know that we’re heading into a time where our long-term focus on transformational outcomes for the district is going to be challenged by the short to medium-term financial situation here and around the world.

So at our first council meeting of the new triennium on November 10 we hit the ground listening – and planning.

We received the financial performance report for the first quarter of this financial year (July-September 2022). It was a stark illustration of how the economic landscape has shifted, confirming:

• the slowing of activity in areas like building consents, subdivision and solid waste, meaning fees and charges collected are less than expected, and
• the speeding up of cost increases for interest rates, insurance premiums and all types of work, particularly through contractors.

Ultimately, the knock-on effects of these conditions are reflected in rates bills. That’s a tough, and disappointingly familiar, situation. Councils are at the end of a long line of knock-on effects from external economic conditions, and those that tried in the past to keep rates artificially low are now paying the price in bills for repairing ageing, underfunded infrastructure. We’ve faced those facts with you already through consulting on our current Long-Term Plan, and the catch-up work will continue for many years to come.

So, now where are the strongest gusts coming from? Can we build short-term windbreaks, and still fulfil our obligations to the Central Hawke’s Bay citizens of tomorrow? What are the durable, sustainable structures we need to weather the storm and emerge stronger and ready to face whatever comes next?

Our councillors, all community leaders already, will need to take another step forward into leadership roles across our core priorities.

We’re setting up a formal committee with our Tamatea mana whenua for the first time in many years. Leaning into our relationships with mana whenua, other councils, community groups, funders and government will make it easier for us all to get things done.

There’s great strength in partnership. We know that our priorities need to dig deep on getting delivery right across all activities, that we have some work to do in right-sizing our approach to roading, and that we need to get our heads around the impacts of climate change, including in the area of water security.

We also know that the future of our community needs council leadership to enable better housing outcomes, to do more to activate our town centres and fully utilise council facilities.

Calling on external funding opportunities to support the “nice-to-have” work, carefully prioritising long-term investments, and involving community in how we approach these decisions will be vital.

We’re unlikely to encounter fair winds and a following sea any time soon, but it’s worth noting again that there is power in partnership in times of adversity, and Central Hawke’s Bay is well positioned compared to other parts of the country.

I suggest that you keep your eyes peeled for the work councillors will need to do on the Annual Plan (budget) for next year. We will see more detail in December. As always, we’ll keep you informed.