Desperate for savings, the Lower Hutt City Council plans to close the aviary

It’s a case of goodbye aviary and hello debt as the Hutt City Council grapples with some serious financial challenges.

Residents will be asked next week for their opinion on a proposed rate increase of 9.9%. The proposed draft annual plan includes increasing debt from $620 million in 2027/28 to $769 million.

In recent decades, the council has boasted that interest rate hikes have been significantly below the national average, as have debt levels.

However, it became increasingly clear that it had led to underfunding of infrastructure, especially the water network. Climate change has also exacerbated the municipality’s problems slips into Stokes Valley and the shared path in the eastern bays earn a lot of money.

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About 50% of the proposed increase would go towards the construction of three water infrastructures.

“Getting our water services up to par will require significant investment over a number of years, and we propose to prioritize this by spending $48.2 million to maintain existing networks and $26.9 million to new infrastructure,” said Mayor Campbell Barry.

For a residential taxpayer with a property valued at $815,000, rates would increase by $261 per year, a weekly increase of $5.02.

Chairman of the Board in February Yes Miller said the council needed to invest heavily in infrastructure in the coming decades. It couldn’t keep raising rates to pay for pipes and stuff without reform of three waters the council could not finance the necessary work.

The current plan includes savings of $6.5 million in cuts to legal, travel and lodging, publicity, equipment purchases, postage and cleaning services. Workforce savings over the next eight years would save another $12.9 million.

to recover Petton Wharfthat is closed due to earthquake damagewould be postponed to 2029.

Costs have increased throughout the municipality due to inflation and rising construction and labor costs.

The council is proposing to demolish three park buildings, including an aviary in Riddiford Garden.

“Our local native bird population has increased since the aviary was built, and many people now prefer to interact with birds in the wild rather than in cages,” the council says in its draft plan.

Demolition of the Tukiwi Orchid House, Gibbes Watson Conservatory and aviary would save the council $406,000 by 2031.

Proposed user fee increases include parking, commercial water, and resource permissions.

Resilience projects eligible for funding include protecting Wainuiomata Coast Rd from erosion, repairing slippage, and protecting Eastern Hutt Rd and the Tupua Horo Nuku/Eastern Bays Shared Path.

The shared path in Eastbourne includes a seawall to protect the bays from climate change, costing $80 million.

The project has “assumed external funding of $55.3 million,” but it is still not clear how much Waka Kotahi and the Covid Response and Recovery Fund are willing to invest. Without additional outside funding, the project cannot be completed, leaving parts of Eastbourne vulnerable to sea level rise and flooding, the draft plan said.

The council is proposing to spend $22.8 million to improve the resilience of Eastern Hutt Road. That includes $10.2 million to repair receipts and warranty the road and access to Stokes Valley.

The submission of the draft plan closes on Sunday 30 April.