Organisational strategy to address rates affordibility

Whanganui Mayor Andrew Tripe says, along with councillors, he’s sent a clear message to Whanganui District Council staff that further cost savings and efficiencies must be found to address rates affordability in Whanganui.

In response, council chief executive David Langford has tabled a new organisational strategy for the council with the aim of making rates more affordable for the community while improving the council’s overall performance. Mayor Andrew says that the whole country has experienced unacceptably high rates. “All councils including ours continue to face inflationary pressures, meaning we have to pay more to deliver services. Our first draft of budgets for the long-term plan have already indicated that next year’s rates increase could be more than 17 percent unless we take action to control costs.

“This level of increase is clearly unacceptable and isn’t going to be affordable for our community, so it’s imperative the council finds significant cost savings and efficiencies as we work on delivering the services and facilities our community expects.”

Mayor Andrew says he’s impressed with the new organisational strategy presented to elected members. “I think this strategy’s going to be game-changing. It’s great to see our chief executive, David Langford, and the senior leadership team looking outside the box for ways to make rates more affordable and to improve council performance.” David Langford says it’s important for councillors and the community to see that council management has a plan to lead the organisation and improve how it does its business. “We need a strong ethos of accountability that supports the organisation to deliver excellence for our community. A big part of this is ensuring budgets are being managed in a disciplined and prudent way, and that there’s a focus on continual improvement.”

For more information, please read the council’s media release at: www.whanganui.govt.nz/news