Supporting Documents

Alongside the key topics, Council is also consulting on several supporting documents, including Fees & Charges, Development Contributions Policy and Significance & Engagement Policy. You'll find all of these under 'Supporting Documents', a summary of these is below.

Fees & Charges for 2024/2025

We use fees and charges when Council believes it's fair to ask individual users to pay a bit extra. For example, we charge for the use of the public pool to help pay for some of the costs of running it. We call this a public/private split and it's guided by our Revenue and Financing Policy.

Given the significant cost increases Council is facing alongside increasing rates, Council needs to increase fees and charges higher than the average increases we've seen in previous LTP's.

Below is an example of some of the proposed Fees & Charges changes. For a full schedule view our Proposed Fees and Charges.

Some key changes for 2024/25 include:

• Fee structure changes for Building Consent Fees
• New fees for: Aquatics, Libraries, Building, Resource Planning, Regulatory Compliance, and Solid Waste
• Main areas of material fee increases (greater than 6%) for fees above $10.00 include (but not limited to):
  - Corridor Access Requests
  - Septage Tanker Loads
  - Solid Waste disposal - Large Trailers – General (per m³ ) up to 4.00m long x 1.2m wide (Shannon) per m³
  - Commercial facility hire fees for Te Takeretanga o Kura-hau-pō and Te Awahou Nieuwe Stroom
  - Libraries – Country Membership fees
  - Levin Aquatic Centre – Aquacise, fitness classes and Streamline Swim School Fees
  - Foxton Pools – Admission and Aquacise
  - Animal Control
  - Building Consent Fees

Please refer to the full list of Proposed Fees and Charges.

Financial Strategy

Council’s Financial Strategy sets out our overall financial goals for the next 20 years (2024–44).

It determines how we’ll fund our operations and our proposed capital expenditure. The Financial Strategy supports our goals of improving our financial position and making sure we are funding infrastructure investment that supports resilience and agreed growth projections. Overall Horowhenua is getting into good shape for the future, with the Ōtaki to North of Levin (Ō2NL) expressway and enhanced passenger rail services set to improve connection to our district together with forecasted steady population growth.

However, while we’re well placed to capitalise on growth opportunities, we must focus on balancing our budget and reducing our debt.

Achieving a balance

The Financial Strategy aims to achieve a balance of three elements: ensuring affordable rates for the community, minimising Council’s borrowings, and making the best use of capital spending.

Changes in any one of these three elements will affect the others. To achieve this balance, we propose the following key financial targets and limits:

• Annual rates increases are going to be high in the first three years of the LTP with increases of 17.4%, 11.5% and 9.3% for the first three years. After this we will be able to set the limit at 10% and work hard to keep rates below that.
• Our net borrowings limit is to be less than 250% of our operating income, however we’re aiming to be less than 200% of our operating income within six years.
• Our capital expenditure is to be no more than $315m in total for the first six years. Council’s large asset base and growing population means we have significant capital expenditure costs, which in turn influence our rates and borrowings.
• The Council’s large asset base means we have significant capital expenditure costs, and this impacts our rates and borrowings. The charts following show our proposed rates increases, borrowings and planned capital spending.

Our proposed approach

The Financial Strategy focuses on reducing Council’s debt by limiting our capital spending to no more than $315 million in the first six years of the LTP.

This equates to an average of just under $50m a year and allows us to keep our borrowings below our limit of 250% of operating income. We think it is prudent to stay within this proposed limit and ensure we are moving to balance our operational budget by the end of the third year of the LTP. This means our operating incomes will be enough to cover our operating expenses. Our Financial Strategy assumes the continuation of property disposal sales, with the income either provided to pay back debt or reinvest in Levin Town Centre initiatives.

In 2021 we agreed to reduce the level of non-funded depreciation over the short term, and we have continued with this commitment. For the first three years of the LTP we will not have a balanced budget because we are still working towards fully funding our depreciation and rate funding our operating costs.

Those rates can be used to reduce our level of debt and make sure we have enough “room” in our debt limit to invest in renewals in the future. It does mean that rates will be significantly higher in the first two years of the LTP with an average increase of 17.4% and 11.5%.

From 2027/28, however, we will be in a small surplus position, and we will be able to use the additional rates to reduce our debt levels further.

View the Financial Strategy

Infrastructure Strategy & Development Contributions

Our Infrastructure Strategy is a key component of the LTP because spending on infrastructure assets account for the majority of Council’s spending.

It provides a 30 year picture and long term thinking on significant decisions around investment in infrastructure. It demonstrates how we are managing our assets sustainably and prudently, through future periods of growth and other pressures. To connect the dots in our planning the Infrastructure Strategy aligns with the Financial Strategy to ensure the delivery of these activities is not only affordable for the community but also sustainable.

Our Infrastructure Strategy provides the key strategic direction for balancing the challenges and opportunities our high growth presents with the need to renew or replace ageing assets.

The proposed 20 year capital programme listed within the activity statements, detail the full capital programme that we would ideally like to complete.

Because of the challenges around our levels of debt, we are required to limit our levels of capital spending by just over 27% for the first seven years. This is outlined within the Financial Strategy and Infrastructure Strategy. As part of finalising the LTP we will be agreeing which projects will form part of the reduced programme. At an overall level we are planning to limit the level of three waters pipe renewals to focus on our water and waste water treatment.

View the Infrastructure Strategy

How it’s paid for

Rates pays for most of this, but Development Contributions are also used – they are the tool we use to recover growth related costs from developers for infrastructure upgrades caused by district growth (not renewals of existing assets). We have reviewed and updated the Development Contributions Policy 2024 and it also forms part of the LTP consultation.

Similar to the increase in rates proposed, we are also proposing a sizeable increase to Development Contributions to fund the additional costs of infrastructure to enable the growth.

You’ll find the Development Contributions Policy in the LTP supporting documents. We encourage you to have your say on the changes proposed.

Significance & Engagement Policy

The purpose of this policy is to make sure Council takes a consistent and transparent approach in determining the significance (importance) of a decision and the appropriate level of engagement for that decision. The policy also helps the community anticipate and understand the approach the Council take to decision making.

This policy outlines how Horowhenua District Council will involve the Horowhenua community in its decision-making. There are two parts. First, it sets out Council’s general approach to determining the significance of proposals and decisions about issues, assets and other matters. Then it sets out how Council will engage with the community relative to the significance of the decision.

View the Significance & Engagement Policy