Masterton District Council has adopted its Long-Term Plan for 2018-28.

Mayor Lyn Patterson says the plan underpins Council’s focus on creating places for people to live, work and play and water conservation and waste minimisation initiatives.

“There are three key initiatives included in this Long-Term Plan that focus on creating great spaces for our communities,” Mayor Patterson said.

“We are committed to investing in a fit-for-purpose and future-proof civic centre, rejuvenating the town centre and enhancing our library.”

The plan also includes provisions for initiatives to support improved water conservation and waste minimisation.

“We will introduce smart water meters and increase our investment in water pipe renewals. We will also introduce kerbside wheelie bins for recycling, e-waste services and will also establish a recycling/recovery centre.

“Each of these projects, alongside the progression of our wellbeing strategy adopted earlier this year, contribute to Council’s over-arching goal of achieving the best of rural provincial living,” Mayor Patterson said.

The Council also approved a rates increase of 4.8 per cent, down slightly on the proposed increase of 4.9 per cent.

“Our teams have worked hard to see how we can invest in key projects that will bring significant benefits for our communities, without imposing an unrealistic increase on ratepayers, Mayor Patterson said.

“We are committed to keeping rates affordable, which is why we haven’t had increases above 3 per cent over the last five years. The 4.8 per cent increase would amount to less than $1.70 per week for a median-value household in Masterton.”

The recommendations were made following a Special Consultative Procedure, which included 339 submissions being received and 66 people making verbal submissions in-person. The options that council decided to proceed with through its deliberations were supported by the majority of submitters.

Key Project Decisions

$15.5 million for a new civic centre. Further consultation will be undertaken to determine the centre’s look and location
$3.63 million to rejuvenate the Town Centre
$5 million to develop Masterton’s library
$500,000 per annum allocation for wellbeing projects to implement wellbeing strategy
$5.2 million for smart water meters, with an initial pilot period
$600,000 per annum to increase the rate of water pipe renewals
$535,000 in Year 1 to introduce kerbside wheelie bins with a further $120,000 per year in operating costs

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