Supporting our region’s recovery

Feedback on our Annual Plan 2023-2024 engagement document

Closes 8pm, Sunday 2 July 2023

Facing the challenges of Cyclone Gabrielle

Developing our budget for 2023-2024 has been incredibly challenging. We have experienced significant unplanned costs because of the cyclone – as of 30 June 2023, we will have incurred about $50 million in unplanned costs for response and subsequent recovery work – and we expect we will face further substantial unplanned costs in the upcoming year.

We are trying to claim back as much as we can and are exploring all possible funding avenues, however we do expect there will be a shortfall. In addition to this uncertainty, we, like many of you, are also dealing with increased insurance premiums, and rising interest rates and inflation.

This means we have had to make some tough decisions about our previously planned work for 2023-2024 so we can contain costs to reduce the burden on our ratepayers and also set ourselves up to support the region’s recovery as best we can.

We invite your feedback

In tightening our belts, we have substantially reduced our previously forecast 14.5 percent average rate increase to a proposed six percent in the coming year. To help pay for the unplanned costs of Cyclone Gabrielle we’re proposing a $75 regional recovery charge. This is in addition to the rates increase.

Our Annual Plan engagement document is an opportunity to share what decisions we’ve had to tackle and what we’re proposing for 2023-2024. It also shows what the $75 regional recovery charge will go towards.

We invite you to read our proposed plan and submit your feedback on:

• What is important to you in the region’s recovery from Cyclone Gabrielle
• What you think of the focus of our Annual Plan

Submissions

Submissions closed at 8pm Sunday 2 July 2023.