As part of our Long Term Plan 2024 - 2034, we want to permanently stop collecting the District-wide Town Centre Development Fund – Do you agree?

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Consultation has concluded

CLOSED: Consultation has concluded. Please see key dates within the timeline for next steps.

The current picture 

The Town Centre Development Fund is a pool of money shared between the four major towns in our District - Waihī Beach, Katikati, Ōmokoroa and Te Puke. It is built up by collecting $10 annually from every property in the District. 

All four towns take turns at receiving money from the fund for developing and upgrading their town centres. Each town receives this fund for four years at a time and community boards assist Council in deciding what it’s spent on. 

Katikati

CLOSED: Consultation has concluded. Please see key dates within the timeline for next steps.

The current picture 

The Town Centre Development Fund is a pool of money shared between the four major towns in our District - Waihī Beach, Katikati, Ōmokoroa and Te Puke. It is built up by collecting $10 annually from every property in the District. 

All four towns take turns at receiving money from the fund for developing and upgrading their town centres. Each town receives this fund for four years at a time and community boards assist Council in deciding what it’s spent on. 

Katikati also has its own additional Town Centre Rate, and this will continue. This is a rate of $23 (including GST) charged to each property within the Katikati Community Board area. The rate is collected for similar purposes to the Town Centre Development Fund but is separate and unique to the area.

The changing landscape 

The District wide Town Centre Fund was set up in 2007 and has now rotated around all four towns. This makes it a good time to think about its future. While the fund has paid for some very worthwhile projects such as Te Puke’s Heritage Walkway and Two Mile Creek Walkway in Waihī Beach, it’s not a not a perfect model. It takes 16 years to come back round to each town, the funding amount is relatively small, and it doesn’t cover all the District.

Framing the future 

We are taking another look at the fund because we want to make sure we’re using your money in the best and fairest way possible. Instead of having a fund just for town centre projects in these four locations, we think we should look at each project individually, so it will be clear what projects we’re working on and when – right across the District.

We think our preferred option is a better way of funding these types of projects and is a more equitable District wide approach. 

There are two options:

1. Our preferred option - Permanently stop collection of the District wide Town Centre Development Fund with any future town centre projects being funded through existing Council planning processes. 

  • Impact on rates: There are no rates impacts planned over 10 years. However, future rates funded projects may be approved and change this. 
  • Impact on debt: No impact on debt over 10 years.
  • Impact on levels of service: No impact on levels of service.

2. Replace collection of the District-wide Town Centre Development Fund with a contestable fund, funded by a targeted rate of $10 per property across the District. 

  • Impact on rates: $10 (0.26%) per rateable property per year.
  • Impact on debt: No impact on debt over 10 years.
  • Impact on levels of service: No impact on levels of service.