Rotorua's council has received more than 2000 submissions about its draft annual plan with almost 800 of those regarding a matter that doesn't even feature in it.
Yesterday was the deadline for submissions to the Rotorua District Council's Draft Annual Plan for the 2011/12 financial year.
However, 784 of the 2006 submissions received supported the council's joint bid for New Zealand's National Cycling Centre of Excellence.
Council corporate and customer services group manager Jean-Paul Gaston said it was unusual to receive so many submissions in support of a project, let alone one that hardly rated a mention in the plan.
"There was a campaign across the whole of the Bay of Plenty and Waikato to support our joint bid for the National Cycling Centre of Excellence so we had a lot of submissions asking us to support it. They were a very proactive group," Mr Gaston said.
It was important for elected members to know about issues not addressed in the Draft Annual Plan as they could be useful in planning for the future.
Meanwhile, Rotorua's self-appointed rates advocate Geoff Chard said he had collected 1130 submissions urging the council to keep its rates increase to 1 per cent.
"I was very pleased with the response considering we only had two and a half weeks to get it in but I was amazed at how many people didn't even know the council had an annual plan.
A lot of the comments were unprintable but the general feeling of the submissions "... were more aggressive than the rates petition I did two years ago".
Mr Chard said he would be presenting his submission to council in person.
The draft plan sets out the council's programme of services and projects for next year, along with budgets and funding sources.
Rotorua mayor Kevin Winters said the plan proposed an average rates increase of 3.1 per cent, which he said would be one of the lowest in the country and had been kept under the rate of inflation for the third year in a row.
Council chief executive Peter Guerin said the draft plan included measures to stimulate economic growth, sustain and protect the environment and maintain existing service levels while applying financial restraint.
About 20 submissions were against charging a $1 spectator fee at the Aquatic Centre with another 73 against the building of the Eastern Arterial road through Ngapuna.
During the next two months councillors will deliberate on those submissions and the Annual Plan for 2011/12 will be adopted on June 30.
TIMETABLE
- Draft Annual Plan 2011/12 submissions closed - May 3
- Annual plan submission hearings - May 17-19
- Annual plan deliberations/possible changes made - June 7-9
- Adoption of annual plan for 2011/12 - June 30
Cycle centre submissions flood in
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