Whakatāne District Council has formally adopted its Annual Plan for the 2025/26 financial year, confirming an average rates increase of 11.7% (which aligns with the average across councils nationwide).
The increase of 11.7% represents a reduction from the previously forecast 12.7% for Year 2 of the Long Term Plan 2024-34.
The Mayor and Councillors approved the Plan at today’s Council meeting (26 June 2025), following a process focused on identifying savings while maintaining the core work programme agreed in the Long Term Plan.
Mayor Dr Victor Luca says the Plan reflects a careful balance between affordability, service delivery and financial responsibility.
“An 11.7% rates increase is not something I, or many in our community, would choose if there were an easy alternative,” he says.
“But given the pressures we are facing, this is the compromise we landed on. It is a necessary response to a difficult economic environment.”
Like many councils across Aotearoa, the Council continues to face significant cost pressures from inflation, high interest rates and the rising cost of maintaining infrastructure.
“We cannot borrow our way out of this. We cannot spend without discipline. That is why Councillors gave clear direction to find savings without compromising the future. Our Chief Executive and his staff worked hard to find those savings and make them count.”
Compared to the Long Term Plan forecast for 2025/26, operating expenditure has been reduced by 2.2%. The number of planned new full-time equivalent roles over the 10-year period has also been reduced from 32 to 26, with no new staff being added in Year 2.
“This Plan keeps our district moving forward with fewer resources than originally planned. It is not ideal, but we are heading in the right direction,” Mayor Luca says.
As the Annual Plan does not introduce major changes to the Council’s agreed work programme, formal consultation was not required.
“This plan responds to the challenges in front of us. It offers some short-term relief while continuing to invest in the district’s future,” says Mayor Luca.