Western Bay of Plenty District Council is considering delaying adopting its annual plan for two months.

The delay is to enable more time for property revaluations to be finished and for further consultation on financial contributions from developers.

On June 14 the council's Annual Plan Committee will decide whether or not to delay adoption of the 2023/24 annual plan until August 30.

The annual plan sets out the council's projects, budget, fees and charges, and the rates for the year ahead. The proposed rates rise for 2023/24 is 7.41 per cent.

Normally, councils around New Zealand adopt an annual plan by June 30 each year, but Western Bay of Plenty District Council can delay this and still comply with the statutory timeframes.

Council CEO John Holyoake said in a statement it was important the time was taken now to ensure 'a true and accurate annual plan”.

After consulting on the draft financial contribution charges, as part of the annual plan process in March and April, the council has further reviewed its charging models.

Based on that review, including feedback from some developers, we have determined that the financial contribution charges need to be amended, said Holyoake.

The council receives financial contributions from developers to help cater for growth across the district.

Western Bay of Plenty District Council CEO John Holyoake said it 'makes sense” to consider delaying the annual plan. Photo: WBOPDC.

'Council wants to ensure that the community is fully informed of the changes arising from the review and therefore is proposing to undertake further consultation on those prior to deciding whether to adopt the changes.

'We are committed to taking the time to do it now and do it right, allowing our residents and developers time to consider and provide feedback on these changes,” said Holyoake.

Next week, the council's Annual Plan Committee will look to adopt the updated financial contributions proposal in order to consult further on the amendments.

Also, the property revaluation process needs more time for completion. This is mainly due to 'resourcing capacity” in the valuation sector, the council said.

The 2023 valuation process is being completed by independent valuation company Quotable Value and the process is audited by the Valuer-General.

'Providing more time will allow QV to complete this work, release the valuations to our community and receive any objections,” he said.

Western Bay must keep capital and land values of all properties in the district updated so that rates can be accurately and fairly calculated.

Every council in New Zealand is required to carry out a revaluation at least every three years under the Ratings Valuations Act 1998. The council's last revaluation was done in 2020.

'When we look at the combined impact of these two issues on our annual plan process, it makes sense that we'd consider this delay,” said Holyoake.

Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air