Section 2 He tirohaka whānui | Overview

whakarāpopoto o te akoako hapori |  Summary of community consultation

Community feedback

Community engagement on the draft 2022/23 Annual Plan took place between 31 March and 22 April 2022. With the uncertainty of COVID in the community and considering the challenges in planning face to face engagement events; a mixed method approach to engagement was used.  Engagement included creating a series of short videos to tell the story of progress on current projects, taking a proactive use of social media and advertising in print media and radio.

While feedback on specific topics was not sought, the community was invited to tell us how we are doing, and what ideas we should be thinking about to include in future plans for our city.

Council received 324 submissions during the feedback period, and 333 social media posts.  All of the community feedback was categorised into topics, and the 10 most frequently commented on topics were:

Council decision making

Council considered the community feedback received at its deliberations meeting on 23 May 2022.  A complete record of the decisions can be found in the meeting minutes on the DCC website.

The Council agreed to look into some matters as a result of the community feedback received.

he whakatikatika pae tawhiti | 10 year plan update

The 10 year plan 2021-31 outlines the services and activities that the DCC will provide, the projects that will be carried out, and the level of service that the community can expect.  The 10 year plan also includes how much things will cost, how they will be paid for and what it means for rates and debt.

A 10 year plan looks a decade ahead, but is reviewed and consulted on every three years.  An Annual Plan is prepared for the years in between and provides an overview of the Council’s plans for a single year.  The 2022/23 budget is ‘year 2’ of the current 10 year plan.

Budget changes for 2022/23

The 2022/23 budget in this document has been compared to the budget for year two in the 10 year plan, and differences arising are as follows:

1. Grants and subsidies revenue is higher than that provided for in the 2022/23 year of the 10 year plan.  This is a result of the capital expenditure programme being higher than forecast and the inclusion of funding for 3 Waters reform.
2. Financial revenue is higher than forecast in the 10 year plan due to the inclusion of a $5.5 million dividend from Dunedin City Holdings Limited.
3. Personnel costs are higher than that provided for in the 10 year plan.  The primary reason is due to the need for additional staff to respond to the demand for building and other consents and the 3 Waters reform process.  We are also planning to reduce our reliance on contractors and consultants, to enable more efficient project delivery.
4. Other expenses are higher than that provided for in the 10 year plan, and reflect increased costs associated with the landfill, the waste water treatment plants and the inclusion of costs associated with 3 Waters reform.
5. Depreciation costs are higher than provided for in the 10 year plan due to the revaluation of assets.
6. Interest expense is also higher than forecast in the 10 year plan, reflecting the predicted increase in debt funding required to support the planned capital expenditure programme and an increase in interest rate.
7. The updated capital expenditure programme is detailed in Section 3 of this Annual Plan. Capital budgets have been reviewed and updated for all activities of Council. Since completing the 10 year plan budgets we have better information on the estimated costs of projects and timing of delivery. We have also included new funding for the Dunedin Urban Cycleway project that will deliver the Tunnels Trail from Mosgiel to Dunedin.

Significant forecasting assumptions for 2022/23

The 10 year plan included an assumed interest rate of 2.85% per annum for floating debt.  Due to increases in the official cash rate to manage inflationary pressures and the elevated level of economic activity, the floating interest rate included in the 2022/23 Annual Plan is 3.60%.

There are no other changes to the significant forecasting assumptions for the 2022/23 year. Significant forecasting assumptions can be found in Section 4 of the 10 year plan.

te tahua ā-tau |  annual budget