Hawke's Bay's Regional Council is focussed on stimulating a climate smart recovery to address the economic challenges facing the region from both COVID-19 and the drought.
The upcoming 2020-21 Annual Plan aims to address the expected financial impact of COVID-19 and how the Council proposes to adjust to an expected reduction in investment income through its climate smart recovery plan.
"We are very conscious of the financial uncertainty facing many Hawke's Bay businesses and families, and so we are offering our ratepayers the opportunity to decide on a zero rates increase to cushion the impact of COVID-19 and drought through consultation," says Regional Council Chair Rex Graham.
The Council is also consulting on a proposal to set up a $1 million Recovery Fund to leverage potential government co-funding into Council projects.
"This will contribute our own funding to shovel-ready capital projects that create jobs and economic activity in the region while enhancing the environment," says Mr Graham.
Chief Executive James Palmer says the Regional Council has the ability to, and will, borrow to fund operational expenses if necessary.
"We are committed to continuing with our planned programmes of work. Our focus has been on how we fund these in light of the COVID-19 impact on our non-rate revenue. We will reduce costs where we can without compromising on the levels of our service across the region," he says.
Mr Palmer says COVID-19 has been an unprecedented disruption, but it's vital that the focus remains on climate change, which is the biggest threat to the region's wellbeing.
"Time is not on our side on this issue and so we cannot afford to push it back down the priority list. This year's drought is a reminder of the impact of climate on our regional economy and environment, as well as the importance of our rural sector to our economy," he says."
Mr Palmer says that as well as the economic challenges from COVID-19 and drought, the region still has the hugely complex issues of climate change, freshwater and biodiversity to address.
"We need to continue to find ways to work smarter with our community to do as much as possible with limited resources," he says.
"We recognise the financial challenges ahead for many ratepayers and we need to be smart about our financial resources and use our balance sheet to continue to make progress on the region's big issues," says Mr Palmer.
"Organisational costs and spending are under tight scrutiny and will remain so throughout the coming year. Our rating team will also operate with greater flexibility and compassion, recognising the genuine hardship that people are facing," he says.
Consultation on the 2020-21 Annual Plan is open from 8 to 28 June, with more information at hbrc.govt.nz, search: #ourplan.