21 Jun 2022

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Christchurch City Council has finalised its $1.27 billion budget for the coming year, agreeing on an average rate increase of 4.66 per cent.

“Given the current economic environment and the inflationary pressures, I am pleased we have been able to keep this year’s rate rise below the 4.96 per cent figure that we signalled earlier this year,” says Christchurch Mayor Lianne Dalziel.

“We went into the Annual Plan process knowing that we need to keep the rate rise as low as possible whilst continuing to invest in the core infrastructure and basic services that our residents want us to focus on. We got an unequivocal message through the Residents Survey that we are not performing at the level that residents expect when it comes to roads, footpaths, and other core infrastructure and services.

“The Annual Plan that we approved today cements our commitment to doing better in those areas,” the Mayor says.

“We received some very constructive feedback during the public consultation on the Draft Annual Plan and I am pleased that we have been able to respond to some of our community’s requests. 

“I am delighted we have been able to make a further $815,000 capital grant to the Save the Jetty Trust so that the Trust and the Council can equally share the costs of restoring the historic Governors Bay jetty. This model of cost-sharing fulfils the spirit of partnership we want to encourage,” the Mayor says.

Mayor Dalziel says that overall the Council will spend $578.3 million on its capital programme in the 2022/23 financial year, $537.5 million on the day-to-day costs of running the city, and $126.5 million on debt servicing and repayment.

“We were originally planning to spend $615.5 million on the capital programme but staff have reviewed the programme in light of the supply chain issues and other factors impacting on the delivery of construction projects. As a result, we have reduced the size of the capital programme to ensure we are not levying ratepayers for funds for projects we cannot deliver in that year.”