 |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Help us plan
for the next 10 years |
Related Links | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Volume I: The Long Term Plan | |
| Cover |
|
| Map |
 (187k) |
| Section I: Introduction and overview |
(697k) |
|
Section II:
Rodney today Section III: Rodney tomorrow |
(734k) |
| Section IV: Council activities |
(1395k) |
| Section V: Financial statements and statement of accounting policies |
(605k) |
| Section VI: About Rodney District and Rodney District Council |
(441k) |
| Section VII: Auditor's opinion |
(389k) |
| Volume II: Funding and Financial Policies, and Supplementary Policies | |
| Cover |
(523k) |
| Funding and financial policies |
(724k) |
|
(531k) |
|
| Volume III: Ten Year Capital Expenditure Programme | |
| Cover |
(521k) |
|
(704k) |
|
|
Volume IV: Water and Sanitary Services Assessment Summary |
|
| Cover |
(343k) |
| Water and Sanitary Services Assessment Summary |
(463k) |
What is the LTP? |
| The LTP is a document that sets a framework to guide the council’s programmes, budgets and financial planning over a 10-year period. Strategic in nature it not only identifies the big issues facing Rodney district, but details what the Council will do about these long-term strategic issues. It also covers ongoing day-to-day activities, but with a longer term focus. The plan is monitored and reviewed every 3 years, to check with the community that the Council is on track to achieve the community outcomes. |
What is the Annual Plan? |
| The Annual Plan is a 1-year slice of the LTP, looking specifically at budgets in a given year. |
Where does the community fit in? |
| The community has a very important role in the development of a LTP. The community help identify the "community outcomes" or important future directions for the district, they provide ideas on projects and initiatives and services that they would like the Council to undertake and they also have input through the submission process in the drafting of the final document. |
What is the process to approve the LTP? |
|
Approving and adopting a LTP is a strict legislative process. Under the Local Government Act 2002, Councils must undertake prescribed consultation and submission processes adhering at all times to official guidelines and deadlines. Councils must then take into account the submissions and feedback from the public and other stakeholders, draft the final document and adopt the LTP. This document then acts as a business plan or road map for where the Council is going over the next few years. |
How does the LTP affect me? |
|
The LTP provides a detailed look at what activities and services will be available in your neighbourhood and district over the next 10 years. The process of developing the LTP gives you the opportunity to tell us whether you think what we have planned is a good idea, or whether you’d rather us spend your rates money on other projects. With over 88,000 people in Rodney, there are many different views, wishes and needs, so council must juggle the available resources with the community views when designing the plan. The Council also has to comply with legislation, such as water quality, roading services and dog control and the LTP must set aside money to maintaining these core services. The plan covers:
|
Will there still be an annual plan? |
|
Yes, but only in interim years. The LTP is a comprehensive document combining the detail of the annual plan with the long-term planning horizon of a 10-year document. The LTP contains a lot of detail for the first year of the plan, an average amount of detail for the next 2 years, and general detail for the final 7 years of the plan. An LTP will not be produced every year and a much simpler version of the Annual Plan will be produced for the years in which an LTP is not produced. The next Annual Plan is for the 2007/2008 period. |
Will there be an Annual Report? |
| Yes, Council needs to report annually on progress and will document its achievements in an Annual Report. |
Does the Council have to carry out everything in the LTP? |
| No. While the LTP is co-ordinated by council, many of the outcomes rely on the community and other organisations, groups and businesses in order to achieve the long-term vision of the district. The Council is one player in the team and will do its part, but other parties also have a role in helping to achieve the vision. The LTP is a plan, not a contract for what exactly the Council will do, but it does spell out the intentions of the Council and community. |
What is required before an LTP can be produced? |
|
A key part of the LTP process is the idea of "community outcomes", or future aspirations of the district. Before an LTP can be produced, the Council must consult with its stakeholders to find out what the particular community outcomes are for its district and how the Council should try and achieve these outcomes. Other work must also take place, this includes:
|
What has the LTP got to do with Vision Rodney? |
| Vision Rodney is the document that contains the community outcomes, or future aspirations of the community for the Rodney District. |
What are community outcomes? |
| Community outcomes are aspirations, hopes or intentions for how the community would like their district to be in the future. Community outcomes are very important for the LTP, as they dictate the services and initiatives Councils and other agencies should provide for the community to meet their needs. They provide the “direction” that the Council should work towards and help communities achieve. |
How will the vision/outcomes be turned into action? |
| It is up to communities, the Council and other stakeholders (agencies, organisations, partners) to turn outcomes into action. The Council does have a special role to play with and on behalf of communities, but it does not have sole responsibility for community outcomes. |
What are targeted rates? |
|
Rates are a very blunt tool – they are usually levied across many properties based on land value. This assumes that everyone gets or has access to a similar level of service. There are cases where service levels differ or some services are not offered to some properties. This requires something less blunt, such as a targeted rate. Rodney has used targeted rates for many years, for example water and wastewater services, but the basis for them has been relatively wide-ranging such as for all properties connected to a water service or for all properties in an urban area. With pressures on the council for higher levels of services in specific areas, the council is considering introducing very specific targeted rates. For example, it may introduce a targeted rate to fund town centre amenities, with all of the properties that benefit being levied. Or it may introduce a targeted rate to fund community infrastructure such as a swimming pool or leisure centre. |
Why are you asking about strategic property management and what is a CCO? |
| The council actively trades in property for a range of reasons including roading, water supply and drainage, recreation and town centre development. Its property activity is managed internally. The council is proposing to investigate the ways it achieves its property aims, including whether to keep management within the council or form an independent property company called a Council Controlled Organisation (CCO). A CCO could be set up as a management company or as a property company. The council would control 50 percent or more of the voting rights and have the right to appoint half or more of the directors. If it retained management within the council, it could preserve the status quo or set up a special business unit. |
If growth is our biggest challenge, why don’t we just stop it? |
| Growth is a very big challenge for Rodney District. In fact we are one of the fastest growing areas in the country. However, we can’t stop change and growth. Instead we need to embrace change and positive progress, and manage growth with intent. We need to manage future opportunities in a manner that fits Rodney, our people and our character, by using the guidelines and aspirations expressed in Vision Rodney. |
"Vision Rodney" is a long-term strategic planning document identifying the aspirations Rodney communities have for the future of Rodney District. It contains the outcomes that communities want to achieve for the district, expressed as “intents”. It was created through extensive community and stakeholder consultation and is the blueprint for future growth and development in the district.
For further details refer to Vision Rodney. Alternatively contact us and a copy of the document can be sent out to you.
The purpose of the document is to provide guidelines for how the Rodney community would like to see the district develop and grow over the next 20 to 30 years. It identifies what is important to them; the things they value and want to keep and the things that they want to change and make better.
The consultation for Vision Rodney was undertaken in 2002 and 2003. The final document was adopted in July 2003.
Vision Rodney is a strategy by and for the people of Rodney. The Council’s role was to facilitate the process. To ensure as wide a spectrum of the community as possible had the opportunity to have their say on the development of Vision Rodney, numerous discussions were held with:
In addition, 25 agencies (government and non-government stakeholders) that deliver services in the Rodney District (such as the Police, Ministry of Education, Department of Conservation, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Tertiary Education Commission and the Waitemata District Health Board amongst others) were consulted about the issues they face in the district, and how we can work more collaboratively in the future.
The results from these discussions were combined to form a pre-Draft Vision that was taken back to all participants to confirm that this is indeed what they said. Changes were made where necessary, which resulted in the Draft Vision that underwent a public submission process, allowing everyone the opportunity to express their views on the contents and influence the strategy. The final document formed from this input is now known as Vision Rodney which represents the vision our communities have for the district and the future outcomes people want to achieve.
We found that there are many things about the Rodney District that people value: the people, the district’s beauty, the communities, the rural character, the way people support each other. In summary, people value:
The community does not want to lose these special values. They want to play a part in managing future changes and opportunities in a manner that fits Rodney, the people and the district’s character.
In summary people want:
The key messages of this strategy that Rodney people voiced loud and clear are:
In terms of the Local Government Act 2002, these are called our "community outcomes".
Vision Rodney, and the aspirations of the community will be reviewed at least every 6 years.
