A Tauranga ratepayers group has levelled accusations of budget blowouts at Tauranga City Council and its Commissioners in relation to four major city projects.

However, Council have hit back, suggesting the increased funding is related to Covid-19 enforced issues.

The Tauranga Ratepayers Alliance, whose members include elected Councillors replaced by the Commission a year ago, has taken aim at Council for increased funding toward projects at Omanawa Falls, Elizabeth Street, Cameron Road and the destination skate park proposal.

They point to a recent Council meeting highlighting an increase in funding for the Omanawa Falls project of $2.72m, the skate park $1.38m and Elizabeth St $575,000.

'Revelations of blowouts in these projects are unacceptable, and Tauranga deserves better leadership," says TRA spokeswoman Kim Williams, calling the extra expenditure the 'tip of the iceberg”.

'Cameron Road has blown out from $45m to $74.5m on the Commission's watch,” she says.

Kim is also concerned that the spending will continue to rise, highlighting the recently approved Civic Precinct redevelopment, including a museum and library.

'On their current performance, we don't believe our community can have any confidence that the museum and library budget will stick to $300m.”

Tauranga Ratepayers Alliance spokeswoman Kim Williams has called the budget increases 'blowouts”. File/ SunLive.

Council have projected a provisional cost of $270m-$300m for part of the civic precinct redevelopment, named Te Manawataki o Te Papa - the heartbeat of Te Papa, not the entire project.

Commissioner Anne Tolley has hit back at the claims, suggesting they do not take into account the budgetary changes made necessary by the impact of Covid-19.

'The comments made by the Tauranga Ratepayer's Alliance show a lack of understanding of the very significant changes affecting New Zealand's construction sector as a result of the pandemic lockdowns and disruption of the international supply chain,” she says.

'The cost changes highlighted are not ‘budget blowouts', but simply the effects of Covid-related delays, material shortages and under-capacity in our construction industry. All of those factors are outside of Council's control.”

The original budget for Omanawa Falls was set in 2018, prior to the onset of the pandemic.

Council also says they are seeking third-party funding to help alleviate the need for ratepayer funding.

The project has already been granted $1m of funding from the Tourism Infrastructure Fund.

The Omanawa Falls project aims to give safe access to the deadly beauty spot, in co-operation with Ngāti Hangarau and Tourism Bay of Plenty.

'The project has gone through a number of design changes as the falls themselves have steep cliffs, which are unstable in parts,” says Council's director of Spaces and Places Paul Dunphy.

'This means creating safe access is challenging.

'During the co-design process the budget, which was originally set in 2018, needed to be revised, and the cost estimate has been updated to reflect this.”

The skate park project, which does not yet have a confirmed site, will also be targeted for external funding – with as much as 50 per cent potentially sought.

On the subject of Elizabeth Street, Paul explains the recent budget increase comes from a contingency standpoint due to delays on the Thirty Eight Elizabeth development, known as the Farmers building.

'Delays in the completion of that project mean that additional contingency budget is required to ensure the Elizabeth Street upgrade can be delivered as planned,” he says.

Delays at the Farmers building development pushed Elizabeth St works budgets higher. Photo: SunLive.

'However, due to underspending in the project's wastewater and water budgets, the overall project budget is unlikely to change. The additional budget requested is contingency funding and will only be used if it is required.”

Council's director of Transport Brendan Bisley says that the increased funding for Cameron Road, approved in August 2021, will be split over the next two financial years and 'covers the nationwide construction sector cost increases” incurred by the pandemic since initial Government funding applications went through in April 2020.

It also reflects additions to the initial plan which Brendan says relate to 'safety, connectivity and amenity”.

This includes additional traffic signals at three intersections, crossing points for pedestrians and cyclists, the treatment of stormwater, cultural artwork funding and water supply upgrading.

He also highlights how central Government will be providing some funding toward the project.

'Council was successful in securing $45 million for this project from central government to support NZ's recovery from Covid-19,” says Brendan.

'Primarily this was because the project aligns with the government's overarching objectives including supporting growth, safety, and alternate transport choices and creating attractive public spaces for the community.”

Paul explains that Covid-19's impact is likely to continue regionally, and across New Zealand, for the foreseeable future as the nation continues to handle the Omicron variant.

'The last two years have been challenging for construction projects across the country,” he says.

'That's both for council-led projects and for other public and private projects.

'Covid-19 has caused construction delays due to lockdowns, worldwide supply chain issues affecting a wide range of materials, and significant impacts on availability of construction workers. This has led to project delays which have caused many projects to exceed their contingency budgets.”

The budget increases for the Elizabeth Street Upgrade and Omanawa Falls will be included in the draft Annual Plan with community feedback sought in April.

Decisions will be made at the end of June 2022.