Council supports new ideas for funding
Published on 23 March 2015
23 March 2015
The Wanganui District Council supports the discussion Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ) is having about how to fund local government services now and into the future.
By 2020 it is expected that there will be a $7 billion shortfall for work on ageing or new infrastructure required by councils nationwide.
A Wanganui District Council working party, made up of Crs Jenny Duncan, Ray Stevens and Sue Westwood, will make a submission to LGNZ’s Funding Review discussion paper, which was released in February this year.
Mayor Annette Main says the paper looks at current and possible funding mechanisms, which are on the table for councils and the community to debate.
“Local government is under pressure from the community as well as from central government for local services so it’s timely to have this discussion.
“Some of the talking points in the paper are issues our community is facing, such as how we provide services for an ageing population, how we fund some of our ageing infrastructure and what we do with the earthquake-prone buildings. These issues are not unique to our council; they are faced all over the country.
“One of the options in the discussion paper is to determine appropriate partnerships with central government for the prosperity of all communities, including those in provincial New Zealand.
“We live in an innovative, leading edge community, so we are ready to tackle the challenges the future brings. We have already started to address the issue of population decline with our early adoption of ultrafast broadband in order to increase business development in our community as well as other new ways to keep our district productive. Our economic development strategy is currently being reviewed and I expect this to set clear goals around both population growth and job creation.
“We encourage members of the public, community groups and businesses to have their say on the discussion paper, as the way your council is funded affects everyone.”
To read the LGNZ Funding Review discussion paper, visit www.lgnz.co.nz/assets/Uploads/Our-work/Local-Government-Funding-Review.pdf.
To make a submission to LGNZ, please email fundingreview@lgnz.co.nz.
Submissions close on 27 March 2015.