Rates will go up in the Ashburton District, but work on the roads looks set to reduce after “overspending” in the last two years.
Ashburton District Council is trimming the average rates increase from an initial starting point of 10.4 per cent down to closer to 9 per cent, with some work still to be done on the draft budgets.
A big debate occurred at the workshop on Wednesday around the roading budget, or the lack of one.
Deputy Mayor Richard Wilson said he was “flabbergasted” that unsubsidised money had been spent “to cover up that we have overspent along the way” on roads.
Of its $58.2m three-year budget, locked in via the NZTA funding cycle, the council had spent 70% of the money across two years: $21.2 in 2024/2 and $20.1 in 205/26.
That leaves just $16.9 in 2026/27.
There was also $3m of unsubsidised money, around 6 per cent of the rates.
This is money the council budgeted for in its long-term plan but was unmatched by the NZTA.
However, most of it has already been spent, with the draft budget showing only $110,118 available.
Cr Russell Ellis said he was shocked by the figures.
“I keep telling our ratepayers we are spending $3m a year on unsubsidised roading, and it makes up 6 per cent of their rates, and now I’m getting told $110,000 this year.”
Chief executive Hamish Riach said to take a three-year point of view, and the council completed more work in the first two years.
“Here is what is left to spend in the third year,” Riach said.
The council will still rate for the $3m of unsubsidised roading, “but essentially it has been absorbed to fund the over expenditure in years one and two”.
You can put additional money in the roading budget for the third year, but it would come at a cost, Riach said.
Facing a rate increase already on the verge of 10 per cent, and with 1 per cent equal to around $560,000, there was no appetite from the councillors to add further unsubsidised roading money.
The council is also proposing a $20m loan for the new road to the second bridge, which Riach previously stated is the number NZTA advised they will need.
Open spaces
Across the workshops, Wilson had his eye on the expanding $6.1m parks and open spaces budget.
“The cost to run the (Ashburton) Domain and keep it at the standard that our community wants is unsustainable”.
“To maintain the domain, as it stands, is costing more than our community can afford.”
He said the open spaces should not involve any debt-funded projects and also wasn’t happy with the number of reserves being used that were “making the budget bigger without looking after what we have got”.
“It’s not just money you can spend elsewhere, because as soon as you spend it on more stuff, we have got to maintain it still.
“Who pays for that? Where is that going to come from?”
There is an additional $258,000 of open spaces projects proposed at the domain to be reserve funded and not impact rates.
There are other additional projects elsewhere in the district as well.
A $75,000 spend on festive flags in Ashburton will be deferred, but a $40,000 extension of the festive lighting along East Street, from Moore Street down to Kermode Street, was included.
The $55,000 Methven lighting project will be reserve-funded rather than debt-funded.
Three waters
Across the draft budget, Riach said three water activities account for around 3.7%, and everything else was about 5.6%, based on where the development of the draft was at.
Water costs are proposed to be fractionally higher to cover a slight deficit in this year’s operations.
The water, wastewater, and stormwater budget was essentially locked in due to the water service delivery plan that was approved by the Government.
The plan includes $3.5m budget for the rollout of water meters in Rakaia and Ashburton.
There is also a $600,000 installation of a water main across the second Ashburton bridge to provide resilience to the Tinwald and Lake Hood water supplies, as the Tinwald drinking water bore continues to show higher levels of nitrates than other bores.
Waste
Wilson said the introduction of food and organic waste collection is a “better service, but it doesn’t come for free”.
He said that for those with the service, the cost is going up 50 per cent.
The operational cost is $1.6m – about $128 annually per household.
The $1.4m for the 240-litre bins and infrastructure for the green waste collection will be funded by grants and debt.
The council has a further budget workshop session planned next week to work towards finalising its draft annual plan.
