From the Mayor

I was asked to speak at a recent Martinborough Lions Meeting about the year ahead for South Wairarapa District Council.  This is an abridged version of what I said. 
Your council is in good financial shape.  Council’s financial reserves have been replenished after being hammered by the 2004 and 2006 flood damage we suffered.  Our borrowing is well under the limits set by our policies which are largely determined by our ability to service debt. 

We had a clean financial audit and have met all our statutory requirements under the Local Government Act.  Our Building department, as a Building Consent Authority also had a clean audit and I was told it was one of only six in the country to do so.
On the not so positive side, our roading subsidy from the government is under review.  The New Zealand Transport Agency is reviewing all its financial assistance rates to all councils with a view to standardising them across the country.

 SWDC currently receives a subsidy of forty nine percent of our roading costs with the exception of the Lake Ferry to Ngawi Road where we receive one hundred percent.  Our budget is likely to be set at fifty percent across all our roads.  As the coastal road is extremely high maintenance this will definitely impact on other areas of our road transport budget.

The other main project on our horizon is the waste water (sewerage) upgrade required for all three towns.  Work has progressed well on our consent applications to Greater Wellington Regional Council.  We are working closely with Iwi and the regional Council to deliver a good environmental outcome that our combined communities can afford.
 
All in all your council is in good heart and we are looking forward to the year ahead.  What about local government re-organisation I hear you ask?  The Local Government Commission have indicated they expect to release a draft proposal in early April.