Annual Plan keeps focus on resilience while easing pressure on ratepayers

Published: 24 June 2026

Council has adopted its Annual Plan for 2026-27, maintaining a clear focus on flood resilience, water security and the long-term health of the region’s land and waterways, while taking further steps to reduce the financial burden on households and businesses.

The plan, adopted today, confirms an average rates increase of 5.2 percent for the coming year, lower than the 8.5 percent forecast in Council’s Three-Year Plan 2024-27. Council and staff have worked together over recent months to rethink both the timing and delivery of parts of the programme, with a view to easing pressure where possible without stepping away from core responsibilities.

Regional Council Chair Sophie Siers said the discussion was shaped by consideration of what people needed right now, and what they could realistically afford.

“Across the region, people have been clear about the pressures they are under, and equally clear about what they expect us to deliver, particularly when it comes to managing flood risk and protecting our land and water. This plan reflects that balancing act.”

Changes to how land management services are delivered, the deferral of some rates-smoothing loan repayments, and a continued focus on operating efficiencies have all contributed to lowering the overall increase. Council has also drawn on strong investment performance, using $2.5 million from its investment company HBRIC’s returns to support priority programmes, alongside a modest increase in the annual dividend.

“There are always trade-offs in a plan like this. We have looked carefully at where we can adjust, where we can slow things down, and where we simply cannot. Much of our core work, particularly around flood protection and catchment management, sits firmly in that last category,” says Chair Siers.

Alongside inflation, one of the more significant cost pressures this year relates to the ongoing post-Cyclone Gabrielle North Island Weather event flood resilience programme, which continues across the region.

Much of the Council’s work over the next year will centre on completing flood resilience projects, evolving its approach to erosion control and land management, and bedding in new bus services through the public transport network.

“If there is a thread running through this plan, it is about staying focused on the fundamentals, the things that underpin the wellbeing of the region over the long term, while making sure we remain flexible enough to respond as circumstances change.”

Rates changes will vary across districts and properties, depending on factors such as property value movements and targeted rates. Invoices will be sent out from 10 August, with the first instalment due 20 September.

“Councillors have taken a very deliberate approach here. We can’t step back from the work that protects our communities and supports the region’s future, but we can be thoughtful about how and when we do it, and that’s what this plan is trying to do,” says Chair Siers.

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