Western Bay of Plenty District Council is currently reviewing its 10 year programme of projects and is seeking public feedback on the decision making processes.
Council's Long Term Plan for 2015-2025 outlines the major projects council would like to do work on during the next decade, such as upgrading sports grounds and water supply, maintaining roads and ensuring community facilities are supported.
Western Bay of Plenty District Council staff and Mayor Ross Paterson promoting the council's recent ‘Portraits of our Place' initiative.
All councils are required to set a 10 year plan and review it every three years. The plan also provides information on the budget for each project.
WBOPDC Mayor Ross Paterson says important decisions must be made on the priority of work and suggestions and guidance from community groups is very important.
'Some issues we have identified are economic growth projections and developing a strategy to ensure our district is vibrant and prosperous. We must also consider how demographic changes such as our ageing population will impact our services.
'We also need to continue providing high quality infrastructure such as stormwater systems and roads and do our utmost to keep costs to ratepayers affordable.”
Council gained important feedback from residents about what's special and what they value about the District during the recent ‘Portraits of our Place' community road show but wants to broaden that input to include community organisations and other groups active in the Western Bay.
Ross says top priorities outlined by residents are: being able to afford to live in the Western Bay; local employment opportunities; looking after the environment; having places to socialise and ensuring the district is sustainable for their children's future.
'We're interested in hearing the views of organisations and groups as to whether they agree these are important areas for council to focus on.
'We'd like to hear views about the things that matter to the community, the challenges they expect to face over the next few years and what we should prioritise in the Long Term Plan.”
Council invites people to have to have their say from September 15 by joining the online survey and forum at http://haveyoursay.westernbay.govt./nz
1 comment
Wisechief
Posted on 04-09-2014 10:45 | By Wise Chief
It matters little what is said about what potential developments are required to ensure the local Whakatane/Rotorua/Tauranga BOP area for the its own future good simply because the council will as is their usual bent ignore the input or plagerise the information. I am a senior chief of NZ Maori right across the boards and long before and after British Invasion Wars and Colonisation it was always our duty to make plans for the betterment and long term survival of our peoples or extended families wherever they reside within this land. We have worked for over 34 years towards the development of restoring our offshore reefs which have be utterly destroyed via the developments of the Port and growth of farming and horticulture throughout the area which has decimated all our natural food sources and left us sick and poor as a result of the daily bombardment of poisons.
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