At its final Annual Plan 2025/26 workshop this week, the HB Regional Council signaled it was aiming for a 9.9% average rate increase across the region, down significantly from the 18.3% projected in the Three-Year plan adopted previously. Hastings households will pay a bit more to cover HBRC’s rating for funds allocated to HDC’s post-cyclone remedial work on the Mangarau Stream.

To cut the previously planned rate increase by nearly half, staff has identified $5 million in potential savings, in areas including biodiversity erosion control, environmental education, regional economic development, public transport, farm plan implementation and sponsorships.

Some additional expenses – e.g. $200,000 for binding poll on Māori wards, another $1.7 million for flood protection planning – would be offset by sale of carbon credits.

These changes had already been ‘processed’ in previously workshops (remember, workshops can’t make ‘decisions’), so most of the discussion in this workshop focused on lingering uncertainty about the biodiversity cuts and the economic development funding … and how all this might be best presented in next year’s public consultation document.

With a multi-council review now underway regarding how to structure, coordinate and fund the work of both the HB Regional Economic Development Agency (REDA) and the HB Regional Recovery Agency (as well as our other councils’ work in this space), the matter of HBRC’s future contribution to this pot was kicked to touch until that review is completed early next year. BayBuzz reported on this review here.

Altogether $1.138 million is targeted for cuts in areas like marine research and coastal habitat mapping, catchment groups and other groups working on large-scale environmental projects, and other ‘priority ecosystem’ projects. Councillors were at pains to establish that the cuts contemplated in biodiversity would not compromise maintaining current efforts, but would not allow for any near-term expansion with the Council in an ‘austerity’ (my words, not theirs) frame of mind.

By the time final decisions are made early next year, it would appear that the fundamental issue HBRC will put to ratepayers could be quite simple …

‘Councillors have proposed significant belt-tightening, resulting in reduction in some service levels but no programme closures. Here are the reductions. If you as a ratepayer believe we should be spending more in any area, speak up.’

That’s maybe 2 pages, then allow a mandatory 2-4 pages of explanation of all the great stuff HBRC does and why, and then 1 page of photos reminding you who your current councillors are (that could be reduced to a third-page group shot with suitable caption). Doable in 5-6 pages, written in plain English by whomever writes CHBDC’s superb budget documents.

Unfortunately, HBRC can’t seem to bring itself to seek such simple and straightforward public feedback. Or isn’t allowed to by an overly prescriptive Local Government Act. So expect to see a consultation document that includes technical questions only an accountant could reasonably address.