Council’s 2025-34 Long-Term Plan workshops underway

Buller District Council’s workshop programme for 2025 is in full swing, with the council meeting last Wednesday, 12 February for a public workshop to discuss the levels of service and fees and charges that will be set for the 2025-34 draft Long-Term Plan (LTP).

One new initiative on the table this year is the possibility of introducing an annual residents’ survey, covering all facets of council activities, with the intention of using the feedback gathered to help inform the decision-making processes behind the development of significant documents such as the Long-Term Plan.

Group Manager Corporate Services Paul Numan says: “The new levels of service and key performance indicators (KPIs) set will be based on council’s statutory obligations, and to keep things in perspective, council staff are considering how other councils around the country are choosing to approach these. Staff and councillors will then focus on what needs to be achieved, taking into account the Buller District’s own unique requirements.”

Extensive work has been done to review council’s fees and charges, with each department forming their own strategy, for example the Regulatory Services team is considering adopting more of a user-pays approach.

The draft version of these parameters will be presented to Council at the end of February. This will then help to finalise the draft LTP for adoption in March. After this, council will consult with the community in April, with a view to full adoption at the end of June.

Council will meet for another workshop this Wednesday, 19 February to discuss its 30-year Infrastructure Strategy going forward, and the continuing implementation of Local Water Done Well.

The overall LTP budget is currently under review after an initial workshop and discussions earlier this year. It will be brought back to council for discussion in the coming weeks. Buller District councillors have opted to keep the community outcomes in their LTP, despite central government’s intention to remove the four well beings (social, economic, environmental and cultural) from local government legislation.

Group Manager Infrastructure Services Anthony Blom says: “Overall, council is preparing a back-to-basics budget, with a strong focus on key water and roading infrastructure projects. In late 2024, BDC’s Infrastructure team gave an outline of the specific projects that they plan to undertake in the 2025-34 LTP and has held a special projects workshop detailing these.”

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For further information please contact:
Community Engagement Team
Buller District Council
Media.Enquiries@bdc.govt.nz