Annual Plan for the year ending 30 June 1997 Adopted by the Christchurch City Council on 31 July 1996 WE CHOOSE RECYCLED PAPER Published on 28 August 1996 by the Office of the City Manager, Christchurch City Council, in compliance with s.223D of the Local Government Act 1974 (as amended), ISSN 1171-8714 P O Box 237, Christchurch, New Zealand. The Christchurch City Council's world wide web address is: http://www.ccc.govt.nz/ or email: [email protected] Tel: (03) 379 1660. Fax: (03) 371 1786 MISSION STATEMENT OF THE CHRISTCHURCH CITY COUNCIL To provide a system of local government for the community of Christchurch which: • is responsive to local needs; • gives strong expression to local identity; • strikes a balance between democracy, effectiveness, and efficiency; • is highly accountable for its actions; • advocates in the interest of the whole community; • adds value and employment to the city's economy; • enhances the quality of the city's environment; • is based on sustainable management principles; • efficiently delivers high quality services; • maintains an effective working partnership with central government and the regional unit of local government; • is both a good corporate citizen and a good employer. TE KAUPAPA E WHAIA E TE KAUNIHERA O TE TAONE NUI O OTAUTAHI Kia whakaritea tetahi ara mo te kawanatanga-a-taone mo nga iwi o otautahi • kia aro atu ki nga hiahia-a-rohe • kia tino whakaataria nga ahuatanga o te taone nei • kia whakaritea te kawanatanga horite kia tika tonu, kia kakama hoki • kia whakaae ki te hiki pikau mo ana mahi katoa • hei mangai mo te nohoanga tangata whanui • kia whakanuitia te whai painga o te whakahaerenga moni me etahi turanga mahi • kia whakapai i te takiwa o te taone nui • kia ukaukaina nga kaupapa o te mahi whakahaere • kia hoatu nga ratonga pai rawa atu • kia mahi ngatahi me te kawanatanga me te kawanatanga-a-rohe hoki • kia pai te whakahaere o tana umanga, kia tika hoki te aronga ki ana kaimahi 2 ELECTED MEMBERS AND SENIOR MANAGEMENT Mayor Vicki Buck MA(Hons) Deputy Mayor Councillor Morgan Fahey OBE MB ChB MRCGP FRNZCGP Councillors Oscar Alpers LLB Notary Public Pat Harrow Dip Hort Carole Anderton Ian Howell OBE FNZIM Graham Berry BSc Alister James LLB David Buist Lesley Keast JP David Close MA (NZ) MA (Essex) Charles Manning MA (S’ton) Graham Condon QSM Garry Moore ACA David Cox Margaret Murray JP TTC Anna Crighton MA (Hons) Denis O’Rourke LLB Newton Dodge Gail Sheriff Carole Evans QSO JP Barbara Stewart Gordon Freeman Ron Wright JP MPMI Ishwar Ganda Membership of Community Boards Burwood-Pegasus Shirley-Papanui David Dobbie (Chair) Don Rowlands Yvonne Palmer (Chair) Anne Carroll Clare Duff Gail Sherrif (Cr) Judith Bruce Newton Dodge (Cr) Carole Evans (Cr) Jack Travis *Graham Condon (Cr) Garry Moore (Cr) David East Chrissie Williams Gordon Freeman (Cr) Sue Wells BA Alister James (Cr) Stephen Wright Fendalton-Waimairi Spreydon-Heathcote Barbara Stewart (Cr) (Chair) Keith Nuttall JP MPS ANZCP Oscar Alpers (Cr) (Chair) Sonia Gill BA ATCL AREINZ Val Carter Ian Rivers *Carole Anderton (Cr) Ian Howell (Cr) Graham Catley Hazel Tait Phil Clearwater MA (Hons) Trish Hunter Cheryl Colley Ron Wright (Cr) David Drayton Ann Lewis BA Margaret Murray (Cr) Morgan Fahey (Cr) Hagley-Ferrymead Riccarton-Wigram Anna Crighton (Cr) (Chair) Aaron O’Brien BA David Buist (Cr) Chair Ishwar Ganda (Cr) Heather Brown Richard Boulton BSc(Hons) BCA *Graham Berry (Cr) Lesley Keast (Cr) David Cox (Cr) Charles Manning (Cr) Mary Corbett JP TTC Mike Mora Bob Todd OBE JP John Freeman MA Dip Tchg TTC Mark Kunnen Bob Shearing Liz McRostie Helen Broughton MA Dip Ed (GC) * Denotes member elected to both Council and Community Board Senior Management City Manager Mike Richardson MA(Econ) MA(Town&Reg Planning) MRTPI FRS AFNZIM Director of Finance Bob Lineham BCom ACA AFNZIM MILAM Director of Human Resources Dorothea Brown NZLA Cert FNZLA Director of Operations Jim Williamson BE(Hons) DipMan MIPENZ AFNZIM Director of Policy Jonathan Fletcher BE(Hons) ME(Env Eng) MPP MIPENZ MNZAE Corporate Planning & Information Manager Simon Markham BA BTP Legal Services Manager Peter Mitchell LLB(Hons) Personnel Manager Marshall Wright BCom AFNZIM AIPMNZ MPMI 5 HIGHER STANDARDS, NEW SERVICES AND NEW FACILITIES Introduction lighting. This Annual Plan summarises the services which the Council • Events and festivals. intends to provide for the 12 months from July 1996, and the Council’s general intentions for the 4 years starting in July • A wide range of programmes which target areas as diverse 1997. as traffic safety, recreation for those with disabilities, holiday programmes for school kids and efforts to promote This Plan is the result of a process of consultation with the the conservation of heritage buildings in the city. public that began with the publishing of the Draft Annual Plan in May, and includes a number of changes resulting from The Council is Being Financially Prudent submissions and representations from our Community Boards, The rates did not rise in Christchurch for 4 years from 1989 to interested organisations and the public at large. 1993. Prior to this there was a 2 year period when inflation was relatively high and the former councils (pre amalgamation) Starting Point for the Council raised rates significantly less than the rate of inflation. The Council plans to efficiently deliver high quality services in Following the amalgamation and reform of local government, a way which is responsive to varying local needs. It also plans there were substantial efficiency gains; to some extent, to reflect and lead change in a way which steadily improves the however, the level of rates was held constant by resorting to quality of the city as a place to live. This means providing borrowing for the renewal of basic infrastructure. This became Christchurch people with access to sport, entertainment, evident in 1994 as the quality of information on the condition cultural and learning opportunities which compare favourably of the infrastructural assets and the Council’s finances rose to a with cities of a similar size. The Council also plans to promote new standard. Paying for renewal of basic assets from the growth of jobs and local business opportunities as well as borrowing meant the Council was running what accountants protecting and developing Christchurch’s unique character, its refer to as an “operating deficit”. engineering infrastructure and the quality of its environment. It was in 1994 therefore that the City Council responded to In short we want to make Christchurch a great place to live this information by putting in place a plan to eliminate this over the next 12 months and meet changing needs and dependence on borrowing. It is the elimination of this opportunities so that the city is an even better place to live in 5 operating deficit which has lain behind Council rate rises over and in 25 years’ time. the last two years and is the key factor behind the proposed rate rises this year and in 1997/98. The operating deficit was Striking the Balance $11.75M in the 1994/95 Annual Plan. It had been reduced to $9.09M in the 1995/96 year and this current Plan budgets for We know that all Christchurch residents share these it to be reduced to $2.41m. In 1997/98 the deficit is projected aspirations. The key area in which the Council must exercise to be $.5M and by 1998/99 it will be eliminated. judgement is the extent to which it should ask the community to pay for higher standards, new services and new facilities We accept that raising the rates to eliminate this deficit in the through increased rates and other charges. Council’s accounts is of very limited appeal to current ratepayers. It is nonetheless of enormous significance to future The Council has adopted an increase in rates of 2.77% for the ratepayers who would have carried an unfair burden of debt if forthcoming year to be followed by an increase of 3.94% in the Council had not moved to address this imbalance in the 1997/98 with increases running at around the rate of expected City’s finances. inflation from 1998 onwards. This level of rate increase will fund a continuation of existing services together with an extra It would have been possible to eliminate the operating deficit $40.4M per annum invested in new and improved services in from the efficiency gains being taken each year from the neighbourhoods throughout the city. It also allows the Council’s base operations; rather, however, these have been completion over the next 7 years of $116M worth of projects devoted to meeting changing needs and developing new which have an impact throughout the whole of Christchurch, services. and in some instances provide benefits to Canterbury and the South Island more generally. To put this in context, the An Environmentally Sustainable City current value of the Council's assets is $2,400M. The Council is increasingly focusing on the need to ensure the This budget provides for $191.2M to be spent over the next 12 long term sustainability of Christchurch’s environment. This months broadly to continue the delivery of services currently is a key strategic aim of the Council and 4 areas (among enjoyed by the community. This provides for the following others) in which Council programmes are being developed to services: give it effect are as follows: • The operation of facilities such as libraries, pools, stadia • Planning a major kerbside recycling initiative so that by and the Art Gallery. the end of 1997 all households will have the facilities to separate and put out at the kerbside those parts of their • $2.56M of grants to a range of community organisations.