Waitaki District Council Agrees 9 Year Long Term Plan and Budget

Published on 01 July 2025

At an Extraordinary Council Meeting on 30 June, Waitaki District Council adopted its Long Term Plan (LTP) and budget for the next nine years. The LTP includes an average 9.44% rate rise for next year, the lowest of the Otago district and city councils.

The Long Term Plan has been developed in a time of rapidly rising costs for local councils – especially when it comes to building and replacing things like water infrastructure and roads. Councils also have to meet tougher regulatory standards for drinking water and wastewater.

This plan focuses on investing in water and wastewater infrastructure to meet those standards, replacing ageing pipes, and building resilience in the face of climate change. It also includes major investment in the district’s roading infrastructure over the next nine years.

Speaking about setting the Long Term Plan, Mayor for Waitaki, Gary Kircher says,

“No one likes a rate increase that increases people’s financial burden and decreases Waitaki’s affordability. We have managed to find further savings which take the overall rates increase from the original 10.3% to 9.44% but that is still higher than any of us wanted. To get to that point, we cut back numerous projects, deferred some and cancelled others. We have accepted several new proposals brought to us through the consultation process but said no to the great majority.

As a Council, we’ve taken a prudent and cautious approach to spending – it has been another challenging round of budgeting dominated by critical services such as water and roading, community wellbeing, and the resilience of our district.”

Waitaki District Council Chief Executive, Alex Parmley says,

“The big challenge of this LTP has been water. The government’s change in approach to water reform whilst also requiring councils to deliver higher standards in drinking water and waste water have put huge costs on to every council and its ratepayers. This has come at a time when costs of delivering infrastructure have been increasing dramatically. Our Transformation Programme is helping us become more efficient and effective in what we do and how we deliver but on its own, does not provide all the answers.

Councillors and staff have put in a huge shift, spending many hours scrutinising every part of Council to look at how we keep costs down for ratepayers whilst also delivering the investment in our infrastructure that our district needs as well as providing the services our residents value. Our commitment as an organisation is to continue to improve our efficiency and effectiveness so we can increase the value for residents and ratepayers and make every dollar go as far as possible in meeting our district’s needs.”

As part of the LTP Council also agreed to:

• introduce water metering towards the end of the plan, to help reduce the investment needed in upgrading water infrastructure
• ask for a new report into the options for Beach Road
• look at converting Tourism Waitaki to an Economic Development Agency to work with businesses to boost economic growth
• put in place a programme to sell surplus property that is not delivering sufficient value for rate payers to help reduce costs and pay back debt
• investigate an additional rate for ‘Airbnb’ short term rentals

The Long Term Plan sets a clear path forward for the district – one that balances the rising cost pressures on councils with the need to invest in core infrastructure and services our communities rely on. While tough decisions have had to be made, Council remains focused on delivering value, keeping rates as affordable as possible, and making sure Waitaki is well-prepared for the challenges and opportunities ahead.

Read the 2025-34 Long Term Plan.

www.waitaki.govt.nz/long-term-plans