Roading costs lead to small rates hike
By David Hill, local democracy reporter
Waimakariri ratepayers can expect a small rates hike to balance the council’s ballooning roading budget.
Mayor Dan Gordon says the council has increased its proposed rates rise from 5.97%, signalled in the draft annual plan, to 6.24% as staff work to keep on top of rising road maintenance costs.
"Most of the emails, messages and submissions we have received are around roading issues.
"So when it came down to a decision whether we defer some road maintenance or do we keep up with the work we do, the message from ratepayers was pretty clear."
The extra 0.27% rates rise will net an additional $220,000 for council staff to spend on roads.
Gordon said he had been talking to other councils around the country that were facing similar issues with rising roading costs.
And for some, their roading budget had already blown out, he said.
With the rising roading costs, Gordon said staff will be monitoring the council’s contractor closely to ensure road maintenance is kept up to date.
"We feel that level of audit is very important when we are talking about ratepayer and tax payer money."
The increase to the roading budget was the only change from the draft annual plan presented to ratepayers earlier this year.
The council will meet again on June 20 to sign off the 2023-24 annual plan.
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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62.7% Summer
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35.9% Winter
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1.4% Other - I'll share below
⚠️ 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 ❤️
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!
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