2023/24 Annual Plan – Extended opportunity to have your say on proposed Tamahere Gully restoration work

As part of developing our 2023/24 Annual Plan, which is our statement to the community about our proposed finances and service performance from 1 July 2023 to 30 June 2024, we have been consulting on an additional targeted rate in Tamahere for Gully restoration work.

Whilst we have already received a number of submissions, the period of consultation has been extended to ensure that the community are aware of the proposed targeted rate and are informed about wider proposed general rate changes that will come into effect in July 2023. Find out more about proposed general rate increases here.

The restoration and development of the Tamahere Gully Network was identified by the local community as a top priority through the development of Council Blueprints. The Blueprints are documents that help us learn about and bring to the forefront, the key priorities that our communities want us to be focused on delivering (see the Tamahere Blueprint here).

To progress the development of walkways and restore the native ecology within the Mangaone, Mangaharakeke, and Mangaonui (Tamahere) gully network, Council is proposing a joint approach with the Tamahere Mangaone Restoration Trust (the Trust).

Background:

Over the past decade, the locally run trust has been restoring and rehabilitating reserves and gullies in Tamahere. This work has been done on a voluntary basis with grants and donations covering costs and supported by Waikato District Council since 2021 when a Memorandum of Understanding was signed and funding of $3,000 per annum for operational expenses agreed to.

What we are proposing:

In 2022, The Tamahere Community Committee, on behalf of the Trust, requested an additional targeted rate of $1 per week per property for the pre-2022 Tamahere Ward (please see the attached map in the Document Library to the right for the exact area) be put in place for the local community over the next five years to fund restoration works in the Tamahere Gully area.

The funding that would be collected via the targeted rate would help fund the trust’s restoration works within Council land and reserves or on land with public accessibility. Works would include gully restoration and maintenance, and community education and awareness.

The Tamahere walkway project, funded in the 2021-2031 Long Term Plan over multiple years, would also be able to be completed earlier than anticipated. If Council decides to proceed with the targeted rate, a Terms of Reference between the Council and the Trust will be developed, and appropriate accountability mechanisms put in place.