GWRC wants your views on draft Annual Plan and combined water services proposal

Greater Wellington Regional Council is seeking your views about project and funding decisions outlined in its draft Annual Plan 2014/15, with submissions opening today.

The draft Annual Plan outlines the work GWRC intends to carry out during the 2014/15 financial year, including public transport, water supply, environment, flood protection, parks and regional leadership.

It also sets out the rates for the upcoming year, with council intending to raise rates by an average of $22 per year per household (about 43 cents per week) – or 6.1% - which is a significant drop from the 11.3% earmarked in the Long Term Plan.

To ensure that the right balance between rates and expenditure is met, the regional council is calling for submissions and is looking for residents in the region to make their views known by 28 April 2014, when submissions close.

Greater Wellington Regional Council is also seeking submissions for a proposal to combine water services across Wellington, Porirua and the Hutt Valley.

Options being considered involve integrating the Regional Council’s bulk water supply function with Capacity, introducing a new company name (proposed to be Wellington Water) to reflect its wider mandate, and establishing a water committee of representatives from the five local councils which would be shareholders of the new company to ensure that policy decisions remain the responsibility of elected representatives. The regional council would retain ownership of its bulk water infrastructure assets and other councils would also continue to hold their own assets.

For more information on the draft Annual Plan and the combined water services proposal, or to make a submission, visit www.gw.govt.nz/have-your-say, or write to:

Greater Wellington Regional Council
“Draft Annual Plan submissions 2014/15” and/or “Water Proposal”
Freepost 3156
PO Box 11646
Wellington 6142

ENDS

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