Community invited to help shape the future of Council services

Ruapehu District Council is inviting residents and ratepayers to tell them what services matter the most as it undertakes the most comprehensive review of its levels of service ever carried out.

The review will help shape Council's 2027–2037 Long-Term Plan and ensure services remain sustainable and aligned with community priorities and local government reform.

Mayor Weston Kirton said the review comes at a time of significant change for local government.

"This is the first time Council has reviewed every service we provide in this level of detail," said Mayor Kirton.

"We know the environment we're operating in is changing rapidly. The Government is proposing to cap future rates increases while also progressing its Simplifying Local Government reforms. At the same time, councils across New Zealand continue to face rising costs for delivering services and maintaining infrastructure.

The transfer of water services has also reduced the income available to help fund Council's operations, while many overhead costs remain. Council also needs to consider the impact of rising water charges, alongside rates, when assessing what is affordable for households.

Those changes mean we need to be thinking now about what Council should look like in the future, rather than waiting until financial pressures force decisions on us."

Mayor Kirton said the review is about making sure Council delivers the services that matter most to the community while living within what the district can afford.

"Our goal is to strike the right balance between keeping rates affordable and providing services that our communities genuinely value.

We're asking some fundamental questions that we've never asked before. Should Council be doing this activity at all? If the answer is yes, then to what degree should we be doing it?

Some services may be essential. Others may be able to be delivered differently, at a lower level, by someone else, or perhaps not at all. We want the community's views before we make those decisions."

Every service has a cost. If we choose to invest more in one area, there is less available to spend somewhere else. That's why it's so important we hear from as many people as possible.

Feedback is open from this Wednesday 22 July until Friday 7 August.

Residents can complete the surveys online at ruapehudc.govt.nz or pick up printed copies from their local Council office.

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