A draft Annual Plan going before Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) councillors tomorrow (Thursday March 17) features increased user fees and charges for some services and more funding for climate planning.

It also features an average rates increase of 5.96 percent.

If councillors vote to adopt the 2022-2023 draft Annual Plan at tomorrow’s full council meeting, the plan will be made public for community consultation by next week.

QLDC corporate services general manager Meaghan Miller encouraged the community to have their say once the consultation period opens.

“Each year we invite the community to tell us if they think we are prioritising and funding services and infrastructure projects in the right way,” she said.

The draft Annual Plan features increased user fees and changes for some services; more funding for climate planning; and an average rates increase of 5.96 percent.

“It’s important individuals, families and groups provide their feedback so we capture the views of as many different people across the district as possible.”

The consultation process also provides an opportunity for community groups to apply for grants for one-off projects or operational costs for the 2022-2023 financial year.

“We’ll be scheduling drop-in opportunities to talk with council staff during the consultation period,” Meaghan said.

Both the draft plan and its accompanying consultation document provide a detailed breakdown which shows the impact council’s proposed work programme would have on rates.

QLDC finance, legal and regulatory general manager Stewart Burns said council had taken steps to minimise the average rates increase, taking into account the financial impact of potential variations to the ten-year-plan (TYP) expenditure for the year ahead.

The anticipated average rates increase for 2022-2023 in the current TYP is 5.87 percent.

“The combined impact of adjustments and mitigating actions proposed in this draft Annual Plan move the average rates increase to around 5.96 percent, just inside council’s self-imposed rates increase limit of six percent,” Stewart said.

Copies of the draft Annual Plan and consultation document will be available from council’s customer service offices on Ardmore Street and the Wānaka Library, and submissions can also be made on the council website.

Public submissions to the Annual Plan open next Monday (March 21) will close on April 25; hearings will take place in May; and the final Annual Plan will be adopted by the end of June.