Council has received 174 submissions to its draft 2010/2011 Annual Plan following a one month notification period that closed Friday, 30 April.

The draft plan outlines Council’s proposed infrastructure and service programmes for the next financial year (1 July 2010 – 30 June 2011) and how much money will be needed to cover the work required.

Under the draft 2010/2011 Annual Plan, Council plans to generate $28m from district rates of which 2 per cent is an allowance for inflation leaving a 2.2 per cent increase in real rates.  In addition, 1.1 per cent more rates will be collected because of growth in the number of ratepayers.

The proposed average district rate increase for 2010/2011 is 0.1 per cent higher than the 4.1 per cent average increase in the 2009/2010 financial year.

The majority of submissions to the draft 2010/2011 Annual Plan relate to Council’s proposal to introduce town centre development rates in Te Puke, Waihi Beach and Omokoroa ($10 per property per annum) and to increase the existing town centre development rate in Katikati, from a current $10 per property to $50 per property per annum.

Council also sought community feedback on the value and role of community halls in the District as a means of assisting with decisions about the amount that should be rated for each hall.

Council’s current funding approach for community halls is based on meeting the cost of capital expenditure for each hall by rating over the hall catchment or area of benefit.

More than 80 submitters provided feedback on this topic, with the majority stating their hall was a valuable community asset.

Council will hear and consider submissions from both individuals and organisations starting on 19 May. It will meet again on 8 June to make final decisions on issues resulting from the submission and hearing process and expects to formally adopt the plan on 24 June 2010.