Whangārei is a growing ‘little big’ city with a desire to keep moving forward.
Whangārei is a growing ‘little big’ city with a desire to keep moving forward.
OPINION
As tropical Cyclone Lola passed through Northland, I couldn’t help thinking of those people in our community who are still, eight months on, dealing with the consequences of Cyclone Gabrielle.
I’m aware how the impacts of Gabrielle are still affecting our council budgets and services (and will do for a long time to come), and while I take pride in the resilience of our people here in Northland, I also acknowledge that our people can only take so much more of this.
Due to the continuing storms, I feel like a broken record as I talk again and again about the slips, the potholes, the damage to stormwater pipes, public walkways, parks, coastal and riverside infrastructure. Not to mention the pushing back of programmed works to make time for urgent repairs, committing council staff and budgets to fixing our storm-damaged district, and then falling behind in our scheduled projects.
Whangārei is a growing “little big” city with a desire to keep moving forward.
Our residents and ratepayers expect better services and more of them. Due to this growth, there is more demand on infrastructure upgrades, parks, and sports facilities.
At the same time, the cost of running local government has increased dramatically as more responsibilities are being passed down from central government, with inflation and higher costs for insurances, audit fees and added to this.
The impact of Cyclone Gabrielle is still affecting our council budgets and services. Photo / Michael Cunningham
We’re not the only council grappling with these issues; funding what’s needed for roads, parks, facilities and infrastructure is a big challenge for all of New Zealand. To keep our heads above water, we need to recalibrate, trim projects, take a hard look at our service levels, think about what trade-offs we are willing to live with, and what our communities can do to help to reduce costs.
After doing all of this, we will still need to increase our rates.
Last week the council met to discuss these issues in depth as part of our Long-Term Plan (LTP) process. With Whangārei’s rates among the lowest in the country, budgets are tight. Every council project and plan was put under the spotlight as we assessed needs and priorities, looking at what could be removed or deferred to reduce the impact on our ratepayers.
Our growing economy, we all agreed, was one of our major focuses. On Friday night, I was honoured to attend the Northland Business Excellence Awards 2023, organised by the Northland Chamber of Commerce.
The awards help develop capability, build resilience, and recognise and reward the excellent achievements from our Northland businesses.
Being a business owner myself, I know what it takes to keep going in tough times - through Covid, severe weather events, changing technology and rising costs - and I want to say massive congratulations to every entrant. You’re all winners, and you’re all invaluable to the economic wellbeing of our district.
We all want to see Whangārei and Northland reach its potential, while doing our best to balance affordability for our residents and ratepayers. When we finalise the draft LTP, we look forward to working with you to seek your input on our next 10-year plan early next year.
