Word from our Mayor Kirsten Wise
One of our core Council functions is planning. We plan our budgets and finances. We plan projects, services and activities. We plan for growth and change. Much of this planning involves making choices to go in one direction, or another. Often, each choice presents trade-offs; there is rarely, if ever, a perfect choice.
Part of Council’s role in deciding between choices involves taking our community on a journey. This is what community consultation is all about. It could be a formal consultation with submissions put before elected members. Or it could be something informal, such as an online survey, or sharing an opinion with Council staff at a community pop-up event.
It’s important that our residents understand not only the ‘what’ but also the ‘why’ of many decisions Council has to make. The more our community understands the reasoning and rationale behind the choices that need to be decided on, the better equipped they will be to make the choice they feel is right.
We’ve held a number of formal consultations this year. These have ranged from playground upgrades, to the Easter Sunday Trading Policy, to the most significant one this year – amending our Long Term Plan to enable us to buy residential properties zoned in Category 3.
Coming up next is an online survey that opens on Monday 2 October. It’s for you to share your views on our new priorities and how they will affect Council’s planning as we begin to develop our Three-Year Plan 2024-27. The Plan will outline the state of our finances, the environment we’re facing, our cyclone recovery actions and other key projects in the pipeline.
The Three-Year Plan will focus on what really matters. We need to carefully prioritise our budgets and activities in the coming years to ensure we achieve what we set out to do, and work hard to keep rates increases affordable. I encourage you to take the time to read about the challenges we’re currently facing, and let us know if you think our priorities are on the right track.
Another important consultation currently open is on the Proposed District Plan. This consultation is significant in that the District Plan is only updated every ten to fifteen years. It’s Napier’s ‘rulebook’ – how we govern the city’s development and land use. It sets out how we manage our natural and physical resources, and the social and economic needs of the community. The District Plan impacts everyone in Napier in some way. It’s an important document because of its long lifespan. The Proposed District Plan consultation will be open until mid-December on sayitnapier.nz.
Be a part of Napier’s journey by educating yourself on the issues, and then get involved by making your views known. It’s your city, so say it, Napier!