Western Bay of Plenty District Council adopted their Long Term Plan 2018 – 2028 Draft Consultation Document on Thursday, which is open for public submissions from Friday March 23 until Friday May 4.

The Draft Long Term Plan sets the budget and details what projects the council will focus on for the next ten years.

It's developed following a comprehensive community engagement process, with significant interest and input from Western Bay residents over the last 14 months.

Four key themes emerged during the early investigative phases of the LTP. These were:

• The pace of change
• Getting around
• Protecting our environment and resources
• Building communities.

Each theme was expanded on and developed into either actions or future focused planning projects which form the basis of this draft Consultation Document.

The draft LTP responds to the strong population growth the Western Bay has experienced, which is likely to continue, and the added pressure this puts on core council services.

There are four future focused topics and four funding decisions which council are asking for feedback on.

Key proposals that need decisions made on are:

• Walking and cycling investment
• Funding for the Western Bay Museum
• Arts and culture investment
• Council's debt management approach.

Future-focused topics the council will be getting back in touch with the community in the future on include:

• Planning for growth across the district
• Enabling the housing our community needs
• Investigating alternative recycling and rubbish collection models
• Changing the way we fund growth-related projects.

Mayor Garry Webber says the council's primary focus will continue to be on providing core services, infrastructure, and investing in our communities whilst maintaining affordability of rates.

'We know that rates affordability is a big issue for our ratepayers. As a council we have been working hard to ensure rates increases remain as low as possible without compromising on the levels of service we offer.”

The proposed overall average rates increase for the 2018 – 2019 year is 3.1 percent. Below are the median increases for different property types:

• Urban residential – 0.25 per cent
• Commercial/industrial – 1.48 per cent
• Rural – 2.28 per cent
• Rural dairy – 4.84 per cent
• Rural orchard – 6.19 per cent
• Lifestyle block – 2.48 per cent

'So over the next ten years there is a lot of planning to focus on, to ensure rates affordability remains top of mind for Council.”

To have your say visit haveyoursay.westernbay.govt.nz, call 0800 926 732, or visit the council during one of their roadshows. Further details are online.

• Katikati – Saturday, 14 April – 10am – 12pm
• Te Puke – Sunday, 15 April – 10am – 12pm
• Council Chambers – Thursday – 19 April, 5pm – 7pm
• Omokoroa – Saturday, 21 April – 10am – 12pm
• Waihi Beach - Saturday, 28 April – 10am – 12pm.