Annual plan reshuffles and changes but not to the proposed rate rise in Ashburton
From local democracy reporter Jonathan Leask:
Some things have been changed around but rates are still set to rise by an average of 9.4%.
The Ashburton District Council ran through the final draft of its annual plan on Wednesday before it goes before the council next week for adoption.
Councillors have left no stone unturned for savings or deferrals but haven’t been able to budge on the 9.4% average rates rise.
The council had asked in its consultation if it should reduce services to reduce costs, and therefore rates, but the majority of the 131 submissions received were against any reduction.
Mayor Neil Brown said the council had consulted the community and through the submissions process made changes.
“We listened and made changes around the projects such as new footpaths, [public] toilets, and assessments of disability inclusive playgrounds.
“Small things, moving things around but the community felt it was important. We listened and we changed.
“Some people thought some things were more important than we did and we listened and took that on board, and changed things around.
“It didn’t affect the overall rates as well we just moved things around a bit.”
The council shuffled some funding around to reintroduce new footpaths to the annual plan, sass well as including public toilet facilities and rectifying the safety hazards at the EA Networks entrance - none of which affects the rates.
What is affecting the 9.4% average rise is inflation, flood recovery, new drinking water regulation compliance.
“We are spending a reasonable amount of money on [water regulation compliance] in this coming year and at the end of that year all our water supplies will be compliant.”
The council had been advised in October to factor in an inflation rate of 2.9% but Brown said the council were able to forecast that the figure was too low and went with a rate of 5%.
The councillors reviewed the 173-page document and made several corrections and clarifications for the final draft that will be ready to go for adoption next week.
Poll: Would you rather: Christmas in summer forever or winter forever?
Just a bit of a fun poll to get you thinking.
If you had to live out your Christmas days, would you prefer it was a summer Christmas or a winter Christmas?
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62.6% Summer
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35.9% Winter
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1.5% Other - I'll share below
What word sums up 2024, neighbours?
If 2020 was the year of lockdowns, banana bread, and WFH (work from home)....
In one word, how would you define 2024?
We're excited to see what you come up with!
⚠️ DOGS DIE IN HOT CARS. If you love them, don't leave them. ⚠️
It's a message we share time and time again, and this year, we're calling on you to help us spread that message further.
Did you know that calls to SPCA about dogs left inside hot cars made up a whopping 11% of all welfare calls last summer? This is a completely preventable issue, and one which is causing hundreds of dogs (often loved pets) to suffer.
Here are some quick facts to share with the dog owners in your life:
👉 The temperature inside a car can heat to over 50°C in less than 15 minutes.
👉 Parking in the shade and cracking windows does little to help on a warm day. Dogs rely on panting to keep cool, which they can't do in a hot car.
👉 This puts dogs at a high risk of heatstroke - a serious condition for dogs, with a mortality rate between 39%-50%.
👉 It is an offence under the Animal Welfare Act to leave a dog in a hot vehicle if they are showing signs of heat stress. You can be fined, and prosecuted.
SPCA has created downloadable resources to help you spread the message even further. Posters, a flyer, and a social media tile can be downloaded from our website here: www.spca.nz...
We encourage you to use these - and ask your local businesses to display the posters if they can. Flyers can be kept in your car and handed out as needed.
This is a community problem, and one we cannot solve alone. Help us to prevent more tragedies this summer by sharing this post.
On behalf of the animals - thank you ❤️
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