Councillor comment

Well here we are, half the year gone and just past the shortest day. True to form we are now getting the worst that the weather Gods can throw at us. Heavy rain high seas and gale force winds. While you go about your daily chores spare a thought for the rural community they still need to battle the elements feeding and caring for their animals, thank God that lambing and calving hasn’t started.

  After all the rain over the past two weeks our rural roading network has taken a hit with slips and washouts. We are fortunate that some years ago this council put in place a rural reserve fund to be able to undertake the necessary repairs from these weather events. 

By the time you read this council will have signed off on its Long Term Plan. Some rate payers will be disappointed in what was and wasn’t included in the plan. As councillors we spend a considerable amount of time reading and listening to the submissions and are mindful that we need to consider the district at large when setting our budget and goals for the future. 

This district is unique in that it has three towns and three lots of facilities that go with each town plus a large rural district. All this with a very low rate take, so you can see it is very hard to stretch the budget to accommodate all the needs of our communities. 

With a lot effort and luck we will soon kick Covid to touch and be able to resume some form of normality.

Take care Brian Jephson