2009-19 - Summary
In times of uncertainty, planning for the future becomes more important - and at the same time more difficult.
When we first started our work on this 10-Year Plan we had no idea of how dismal the economic outlook would be by the time we began our community consultation. Back then (not so long ago!) the issue of regional resilience to climate change was foremost on our minds. Now our response to that - our contribution to adaptation in particular - must be crafted in the context of affordability as our community struggles to meet the challenges of a global recession that many are saying is the worst for 60 years.
We need to deal with issues such as preparedness for sea level rise, increased storm intensity (with more storm surges, damaging floods and landslips) and, on the other hand, more prolonged summer droughts. Precisely how we deal with these issues may, in the short term, be affected by falling incomes in the community and consequent resource pinch for Greater Wellington.
Unlike city and district councils we do not collect development contributions, so the stalling of the construction sector has not had an impact on our bottom line. In addition, our investment income has held up so far. However, in this economic climate we need to continue to be extremely prudent.
We are acutely aware that even the modest portion of residents' overall local government rates that go to the work of the region will be difficult for some to afford in the current situation and this may last for some time. I can assure you that affordability has been a key consideration for this 10-Year Plan.
A significant part of our delivery involves infrastructure development - transport, collection and treatment of water, and flood protection. The community's needs in this area will continue despite the economic situation. Ironically, the recession is likely to increase demand for public transport infrastructure and we are committed to a number of major projects addressing years of neglect in this area. This means a doubling of the transport rate over the next 10 years. Flood protection is another area where slowing down vital infrastructure may be false economy. All such major developments have long lead times, with planning and design preceding construction, so it is a big call to delay them.
When planning for this current year (2008/09) we made a judgment call about the price of oil. This item is significant for us because we pay for the diesel for Wellington's public transport fleet. We know now that we got it wrong. Oil prices plunged and, despite the offsetting of a lower New Zealand dollar (which raised the cost of imported goods) we are likely to have a surplus in the transport area at the end of this year. This money goes into the Transport Reserve and can be spent only in that area. But should we spend all this year's savings next year (2009/10) or hold back some to smooth over what could be a rather large rate increase the following year when we start paying our share of the new trains?
In the 10-Year Plan there are a number of other initiatives that expand current activities or that are new. These range from hill country erosion control and possum control in Wairarapa to an increased commitment to the region's economic development agency, Grow Wellington. These are such different services, impacting often on different parts of our community, that the trade-offs required in times of recession are quite difficult judgment calls. We have scrutinised all our programmes carefully and in a number of cases have changed the timeframe so as to have less expenditure in the first year of the plan.
For example, we have long had plans for two new regional parks - Whitireia and Wairarapa Moana (Lakes Wairarapa and Onoke and surrounding wetlands). Rather than abandoning these because of short-term financial stresses, we are treating them as long-term projects, beginning with small and affordable steps. Again, however, we need your views on what we should do.
Science is playing a bigger part in our delivery and one aspect of this plan that we have protected is the investment in environmental science required for us to make facts-based decisions regarding our air, soil and water. This is core business for us. More knowledge is desperately needed so we can deal appropriately with the potential conflicts of increased demand for resource protection and increased demand for resource use.
This situation is complicated by projections for more frequent major weather events - floods and droughts.
A large seismic movement is arguably Wellington's most destructive single catastrophic event, so, along with other councils, we are also investing in a contribution to research on the behaviour of the Wellington faultline.
There has been much public debate about the role of public sector in times of recession - should the Government be spending more to help kick-start the economy? That issue also touches on us. One of our "one-off" capital items is the proposed new building in Masterton. We have 87 staff located there - not many managers, mostly field staff, undertaking a myriad of jobs relating to our stewardship of the region's land and water. The existing cluster of refurbished buildings present occupational safety and health and efficiency challenges for both our staff and for the public who use them. Also, we would like to have the Wairarapa building in such a state that it can be used as an alternative emergency operations centre for Regional Civil Defence and Emergency Management in the event of a large earthquake in Wellington. But all this comes at a cost. So we are asking residents if you think that this is the best time to continue with this project.
That and many other issues in this plan have a direct impact on you - not only through your rates but through the quantity and quality of services that we are able to deliver. Much of what we do is dictated by legislation. Other activities are discretionary but have been developed as a response to community demand.
This 10-Year Plan is an opportunity for you to see "the big picture" - as far as we can judge it. Local government in New Zealand is bound under law to produce a 10-year plan every three years. Even if this were not the case, we would certainly have a strategic plan - though perhaps it would look a little different from this model which must conform to statutory requirements. In short, the way this plan is structured is probably not what we would do if we had a free hand. Like other councils we have found the prescribed plan process to be somewhat clunky in its approach and certainly the compliance cost of passing the required "advance audit" is just too high.
Having said that, we have tried to be as clear as possible about our intentions and their ramifications for residents in both service levels and cost.
You will see that there are projected increases in rates and levies in the next 10 years. These increases are lumpy, reflecting the cost of some of the major infrastructure that I mentioned above. The question for you as residents of our region is: can we afford the programme or should it be modified in some way?
Having said all this, and despite the general gloom, I have great faith in the future of our region. We are blessed in our people, culture and natural resources. We do have the intellectual capital, the will and the imagination and determination to move through the bad times. Greater Wellington places high value on the partnerships we have with numerous individuals, community groups and the local authorities of the region. Please continue to work with us by giving us your considered input into this Proposed 10-Year Plan 2009-19.
Fran Wilde
Chair
Greater Wellington Regional Council