The Big Decisions

Civic Facility

In April 2021, the building housing the Wairarapa Archives was found to be earthquake-prone, and the operation was moved to the Masterton library. During this move, the basement of the library was found to be mouldy, as a result of ongoing leaking. In May 2021, as part of Long-Term Plan consultation, the community was asked when the Civic Facility should be built and how it should be funded:

• 46 per cent of the 191 submitters preferred either building straight away or with a minimum of $4m funding.
• 53 per cent (103) selected the ‘neither’ option. Of these responders, 58 provided commentary that indicated:
• 17 per cent supported a facility, either new or other
• 48 per cent were neutral to the Civic Facility
• 34 per were against building any Civic Facility.

On 2 June, the Council voted 6-5 to proceed with building the Civic Facility, including the library and archive, from 2022/23, with at least $4 million in external funding. It was later decided to put the project on hold until after the 2022 local government elections.

Impact on rates

This translates to a $101 increase per year in rates for an average urban residential property – made up of the annual operating cost, and the cost of servicing the loan used to fund the construction of the building.

Housing for Seniors

Council has decided that it will make land available for more senior housing, but not build the houses itself.

The draft Long-Term Plan proposed unused land in the Council’s Panama Village site be used to build 25 more housing units for seniors. With the Government this year introducing new incentives for private developers to build community housing, the Council decided to implement the alternative proposal in the long-term plan and investigate making the land available for other providers to fund and build public housing.

In June 2022, Council agreed to sell the vacant land at Panama Village on the condition that it is used for public housing. The Long-Term Plan has been amended to reflect this decision.

Impact on rates

There will be no impact on rates from the plan to increase housing for seniors.

What Else is in the Long-Term Plan?

The Long-Term Plan includes capital expenditure of nearly $300 million over the next 10 years – that is largely renewing and upgrading the assets that deliver services in our community. The main areas are:

• Roading – $100 million (excluding Masterton Revamp project of $31.5m over the 10 years)
• Three waters (drinking, wastewater, stormwater) – $82 million
• Community spaces and facilities – $29 million (excluding Civic Facility ($30.8m) and Hood Aerodrome ($16m))

Rates make up $35.3 million of the revenue needed to pay for the costs of delivering Council services. After taking account of the growth in the number of properties, the average increase in urban residential rates over the previous year is 5.5 per cent.