TAURANGA CITY COUNCIL Annual Report 2015/16

Transcription

1 TAURANGA CITY COUNCIL 2015/16

2 CONTENTS 1 INTRODUCTION 9 DECISION MAKING FRAMEWORK 19 YEAR IN REVIEW 43 GROUPS OF ACTIVITES 159 COUNCIL CONTROLLED ORGANISATIONS 175 FINANCIALS 271 APPENDICES 285 ANNUAL REPORT CONCERNING ROUTE K TOLLS

3 Introduction

4 INTRODUCTION 3 Welcome from the Mayor and Chief Executive Our city s phenomenal growth has defined this past year. Tauranga has stood out as one of five areas of New Zealand that are growing and rapidly. The speed of our growth definitely outdid our forecasts this year, with our new dwelling consents 86% above the ten-year average. Throughout the year we responded as required to ensure we continue to successfully manage Tauranga s growth, mainly by: - increasing staff levels in service areas that support the growth in building activity and the demand for services from a growing population, and - providing new infrastructure in new growth areas and increasing the capacity of existing infrastructure to provide for much larger utilisation into the future. We brought forward capital projects to have enough development-ready land available to meet demand in our urban growth areas of The Lakes, Tauriko and Wairakei. This included providing roads, water, wastewater and stormwater services and reserves. We participated in discussions with key agencies at a regional and national level to ensure that the Council is supported in its growth challenges. The National Policy Statement on Urban Development Capacity is a recognition by Central Government of the challenges faced by growth Councils. Government s recent policy initiatives such as the Housing Infrastructure Fund and other potential urban development legislation are looking to help address a number of the issues. The surge in development activity created more demand for Council services such as building, engineering, planning and information services, upping both revenue and delivery costs. Other services such as waste disposal and animal services were also in high demand from our growing population. In general, across our activities, additional costs were offset by increased revenue. All in all, we ended the year in sound financial shape with debt levels at $297m, well below the $355m budgeted through the Long Term Plan. Our debt-torevenue ratio is also down to 155%. Lower debt was mostly a consequence of the reviewed timing of several large capital projects, including the Marine Precinct and the Southern Pipeline, which will be continuing into next year. Higher than expected revenue from development contributions and land sales also contributed to reducing debt. An ambitious capital works programme for next year will see our debt return to levels budgeted next year. KEY ACHIEVEMENTS We are proud of our achievements in the city over the past year. Through the Long Term Plan we had set our course of action to successfully manage Tauranga s growth into the future. We are on track to deliver on our Long Term Plan. Here is a snapshot of the key decisions and highlights of this past year. You can find more details in the Year in Review and Groups of Activities sections of this report. Providing and maintaining infrastructure for our growing city Our focus has been on opening up key urban growth areas at Wairakei, The Lakes and Tauriko. The new commercial and industrial development at Tauriko has grown rapidly with a new shopping centre at Tauriko planned to open later in Renewal and maintenance of our existing infrastructure remained an important focus. This ensured that the city continues to deliver quality services and experiences through our roading, water and wastewater networks, and our parks and facilities. We took the opportunity of required seawall replacement works on Dive Crescent to also build a shared path for cyclists and walkers along this scenic stretch of our city waterfront. We maintained our efforts to improve stormwater management and reduce the impacts of flooding in some of our established areas, including Matua and Roxanne Place.

5 4 TAURANGA CITY COUNCIL ANNUAL REPORT 2015/16 Delivering efficient services to our communities We finished building the new Greerton library and community hub; a modern, engaging and vibrant facility for the Greerton community, twice the size of the previous library. Our water supply to the city continues to deliver high quality drinking water to meet the city s growing demand. We reached a record in water production and reviewed demand forecasts to plan for the future. We delivered initiatives to maintain the safety of our communities, including road safety and emergency management. We built a vertical evacuation structure that provides a safe assembly zone in Papamoa in the event of a tsunami a New Zealand first. We provided events including a four-part Tauranga to the Trenches exhibition series that travelled around Tauranga and to Te Puke, and THE show of the year at Baycourt, with Dame Kiri Te Kanawa gracing the stage of our theatre for one magical (and very well organised) evening. We agreed to the sale of some land at the Historic Village to the Tauranga Energy Consumer Trust for the purposes of building a community hub. Investing in Tauranga s future We worked to enhance the local economy and our city s vibrancy by supporting events that bring people and entertainment to the city, through our Community Events and Major Events Funds. We are supporting the development of the marine industry. We completed successful tenders for the sale of lots in the Marine Precinct, the future marine hub of the Bay, and selected a supplier for its vessel-hoist, which will be the largest in New Zealand at 350t lift capacity. We gave a green light for tidal stairs and a new pier and pontoon to be built on Tauranga s waterfront and give people access to the water again. We supported Education Tauranga, bringing international students to the city, a $40m per year industry. And we signed the project agreement for the development of the future University of Waikato Tauranga campus. We constructed and opened 160 new long-term car parks at Tauranga Airport, and decided to bring forward the planned terminal extensions into the 2016/17 year in response to increasing passenger numbers and flights. We prepared and began consultation on the proposed amendment to the Long Term Plan , Creating Tauranga s Civic Heart. This proposed that Council invest in new offices with surrounding civic spaces on the Willow Street site, develop a civic square on Masonic Park and feasibility studies for a future-proofed library, a museum and a performance venue.

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7 6 TAURANGA CITY COUNCIL ANNUAL REPORT 2015/16 Laying foundations for the future Our Council and our city are facing key challenges into the future. As the city grows, we need to make sure it remains a place people want to live, and where they have options to do so. That means being conscious of our urban form and the way we allow and direct new development. This year we progressed work on developing a spatial framework for the city centre, and started research and analysis on intensification strategies to support a quality city into the future. Changes in urban form influence the need for different types of transport, and transport systems can make or break efforts to achieve a well-functioning city. We have been active participants in regional and national transportation initiatives, parallel to looking at our own local transportation needs. We need to continue to improve our roading networks and provide alternative transportation options including public transport and our cycleways network. We are also laying foundations for a digitally connected city. Digital connectivity supports business opportunities and improves experiences for our residents and customers. Last year we developed a Digital Strategy for the Council digital by default being our motto and started improving our own Information Technology platform and corporate systems. Our city will undoubtedly continue to grow next year. How fast however, we can t predict. But we ll make sure our planning and processes give us the flexibility required to respond to what gets thrown in our direction. Later in 2016 will also see big decisions taken on the future of our Council buildings, and what direction will be chosen to create Tauranga s Civic Heart. Tauranga has some exciting times ahead. Future-proofing our transport system includes working closely with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) to support the delivery and upgrade of state highways. NZTA completed the Tauranga Eastern Link last year, and has announced it will be building the Tauranga Northern Link (Te Puna to Takitimu Drive) by Looking to the sky, we have worked with Air New Zealand to support increased seat capacity into and out of Tauranga from November 2016, by completing design for the extension and enhancement of our airport terminal. Stuart Crosby Mayor Garry Poole Chief Executive

8 INTRODUCTION 7 About the WHAT IS AN ANNUAL REPORT? Every year, we produce an. This lets you know how we performed against what was set through the Long Term Plan (LTP) and Annual Plan, what key decisions we made, how we performed financially and if we met our levels of service measures. This is our key accountability document and lets you know if we are doing what we said we would. This covers the first year of our LTP , the period 1 July 2015 to 30 June We also produce quarterly reports to track our progress against targets and budgets. WHAT IS A LONG TERM PLAN? Every three years we develop a Long Term Plan (LTP) in consultation with the community. This sets our direction, budgets and work plans for the following ten years. The LTP was finalised in June 2015, following substantial community input. The LTP is our lead document and provides detail on all our activities. It sets out Council s Financial Strategy, details our performance measures and provides the rationale for delivery of our activities, amongst other things. This should be the first port of call if you require additional information. HOW DO ANNUAL PLANS FIT IN? In the two years between adopting an LTP, we develop Annual Plans. Essentially this is an update to what we agreed through the LTP, highlighting the changes to our budgets and workplans for each specific year. Any significant or material changes are consulted on with the community. This process allows us to make sure that our budgets and workplans are flexible enough to respond to the needs of our community and the demands of growth. Variations to the LTP are made through the Annual Plan process. More significant changes require an Amendment to the LTP. This is an extensive process that includes additional consultation and an audit of the amendment. Year 3 COUNCIL PLANNING AND REPORTING CYCLE Annual Plan Long Term Plan Year 1 Annual Plan You are here Year 2 All these documents are available on our website in the Documents & Reports section.

9 8 TAURANGA CITY COUNCIL ANNUAL REPORT 2015/16 Statement of Compliance The Council of Tauranga City Council hereby confirms that all statutory requirements in relation to the annual report, as outlined in the Local Government Act 2002, have been complied with. Stuart Crosby Mayor Garry Poole Chief Executive The and the Audited Financial Statements of Tauranga City Council together with the report of the Audit office were adopted by Council on 20 September 2016 in Compliance with S.98 of the Local Government Act 2002.