Our first full week back was very busy, as is the upcoming one, with a first full council meeting on Thursday. Lots of briefings and discussion around the annual plan (budget), the upcoming district review (planning) and various central city projects (art gallery, library and town hall). The next 3 weeks will be more of the same. The main issue with the annual plan will be making sure we meet the budget as per the Three Year Plan (TYP). With all the extra earthquake related costs, building consent costs and lower rates revenue, this will be a challenge but staff are working very hard to fill the gap. The operating budget will be under pressure over the next couple of years but should recover once the Red Zone is no longer operational and we start to see a recovery in our rating base. Its a good opportunity to look hard at how we deliver our services and whether we could be doing that more efficiently. Thats going to be an ongoing process. As you may have noticed, there have been a few sensationalist headlines around the possibility of asset sales. I did quite a few interviews last week but, needless to say, headlines rarely tell the full story. We flagged a major review of CCHL last year, as part of our ongoing and thorough review of our financial position. The previous council signed us up to some major financial commitments without having detailed information on how those commitments would be fulfilled. All we are doing now is getting that information. Its prudent financial management, something that is core to the Local Government Act. Its far to early to speculate as to how things will land up, as there are quite a few moving parts in the financial equation. All I would say is that our balance sheet is strong and we will make the best decisions possible for the city, when we have the information we need. I hope you all managed to get along to the Buskers Festival and catch a performance or two. Meanwhile, whats with this weather? Roll on summer :-)
Posted on: Sun, 26 Jan 2014 08:32:30 +0000
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