Hamilton City Council will apply to use funding provided by central government as part of the Three Waters Reform to deliver a range of projects with community-focused outcomes.

Council’s share of the “Better Off Funding” from the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) is $14.65 million and comes with strict criteria, to do with either reducing emissions, increasing housing or improving community wellbeing.

Mayor Paula Southgate said Council’s application is a sensible one given the current financial environment.

“Right now, with the skyrocketing cost of living, times are really tough for a lot of people. Using these funds to ease the financial pressure on Council is the right thing to do,” Mayor Southgate said.

“We’ve taken an innovative and pragmatic approach to allocating this funding to advance much-needed work to tackle key challenges in our city, such as safety and climate action.

“A successful funding application would mean these work programmes are locked in now, without cost to ratepayers and achieving better outcomes, sooner, to improve the wellbeing of our community.”

The projects and services tagged for the Better Off Funding are:

• native planting and accessways in Te Awa O Katapaki reserve in Flagstaff North to deliver on Council’s Nature in the City strategy ($3.9 million)
• staff and resources to undertake planting and maintenance within Waiwhakareke Natural Heritage Park ($0.5 million)
• workplace and school travel planning, and cycling and pedestrian education, to support Council’s Access Hamilton strategy ($0.7 million)
• the City Safe programme which provides CCTV cameras, graffiti removal, and patrols for anti-social behaviour ($3.1 million)
• corporate sustainability and climate change education programme ($0.75 million)
• funding for community grants ($1.75 million)
• providing more Council data to the public and improving online services for customers ($3.3 million)
• projects to deliver on Council’s He Pou Manawa Ora strategy ($0.5 million).

The corporate sustainability and climate change education programme and He Pou Manawa Ora work are new initiatives, and through the application Council is proposing to extend its City Safe operation to increase its presence in the central city, on river pathways, and at Hamilton’s visitor destinations.

The application was finalised at last week’s (2 February) Council meeting and is due on 28 February.

© Scoop Media