Section 2 he tirohaka whānui | Overview

whakarāpopoto o te akoako hapori | summary of community consultation

Community feedback

Community engagement on the draft 2023 - 2024 Annual Plan took place between 31 March and 21 April 2023. A mixed method approach to engagement was used.  Engagement included taking a proactive use of social media and advertising in print media and radio.  A series of short videos were created to tell the story of progress on current projects and provide updates of some key decisions that have been made.

While feedback on specific topics was not sought, the community was invited to tell us how we are doing and provide some input into our thinking for the next 10 year plan 2024-34.

Submissions were collected via an online form, emails, and written letters.  Around 50 submissions were presented to the Council Annual Plan hearings on 1 and 2 May 2023.

Council received 386 submissions during the feedback period, and 511 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 22 May 2023.  A complete record of the decisions can be found in the meeting minutes on the DCC website.

The Council made decisions and agreed to look into some matters as a result of the community feedback received.  Decisions made at the meeting included:

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 2023/24 budget is ‘year 3’ of the current 10 year plan.

Budget changes for 2023/24

The 2023/24 budget in this document has been compared to the budget for year three 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 grants and subsidies towards 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 an $11.0 million dividend from Dunedin City Holdings Limited.
3. Personnel costs are higher than provided for in the 10 year plan. They were increased in the 2022/23 Annual Plan to respond to demand for building and other consents, the 3 Waters reform process, and to reduce our reliance on contractors and consultants, to enable more efficient project delivery. In the 2023/24 Annual Plan, additional staff are required to staff Te Puna o Whakaehu and to increase back-of-house support areas, necessary to support the changes that are being made internally to increase efficiency and support service delivery.
4. Depreciation costs are higher than provided for in the 10 year plan due to the revaluation of assets.
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. The capital expenditure programme provides an accelerated 3 Waters budget of $95.008 million for the 2023-24 year. This results in an acceleration for Years 1-3 of the 10 year plan 2021-31 of $126.660 million. The Council noted that the accelerated programme for years 1-3 of the 10 year plan 2021-31 was subject to the associated debt transfer being approved by the Department of Internal Affairs.
8. Term loans are higher than provided for in the 10 year plan due to the accelerated 3 Waters capital expenditure programme.

Significant forecasting assumptions for 2023/24

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 2023/24 Annual Plan is 4.85%.

There are no other changes to the significant forecasting assumptions for the 2023/24 year.  Significant forecasting assumptions can be found in Section 4 of the 10 year plan.

te tahua ā-tau | annual budget