How much will the plan cost?

In this Long-term Plan, we know we can continue to invest in making Wellington thrive but need to balance the pace of our investment with what we can afford. As a community, we need to make some tough decisions about what to prioritise.

We’re in a difficult financial environment. We’re not alone in this – local government across the country is facing tough financial constraints. Inflation has increased and, interest rates and insurance costs have continued to climb.

Over the next 10 years, we plan to spend about:

$4.8 billion in capital costs to make improvements in the city
$11.4 billion in operating costs providing the hundreds of services Wellingtonians use everyday – libraries, swimming pools, recreation centres and sports fields, through to festivals, footpaths and our many regulatory services.

We have created a budget that results in a rates increase in 2024/25 of 16.4% (after growth in the ratepayer base) and an average annual increase over the 10 years of the plan of 7%. The sludge levy, which is in addition to general rates, will be introduced from 2024/25 and is a further 1.6% increase (average annual increase of 3.6% over the 10 years of the plan).

But we need to make some careful decisions about priorities, pace, and acceptable levels of risk. We have carefully and thoroughly worked through how we can slow down the pace of our capital works programme while still focusing on core infrastructure. A lot of our investment is in physical assets in Wellington, meaning we’re very exposed to insurance cost increases and lack of availability. We need to consider the risks around that.

Where does the money come from?

The money for operating expenses comes mainly from rates, fees, and charges from those using the services, revenue from investment income e.g. ground lease income and any Wellington International Airport dividend. Debt funds the majority of our capital projects - our development projects and renewing and upgrading our assets and infrastructure.

We are proposing to increase some of our fees and user charges (non-rates revenue) to minimise the impact of the increasing costs to rates. We are also making small changes to our Development Contributions Policy on how we fund growth in our infrastructure.

Read more detail on these cost pressures on page 11 of our consultation document.

Read Financial Strategy

In this Long-term Plan, we know we can continue to invest in making Wellington thrive but need to balance the pace of our investment with what we can afford. As a community, we need to make some tough decisions about what to prioritise.

Over the next 10 years, we plan to spend about:

$4.8 billion in capital costs to make improvements in the city
$11.4 billion in operating costs providing the hundreds of services Wellingtonians use everyday – libraries, swimming pools, recreation centres and sports fields, through to festivals, footpaths and our many regulatory services.

Where does the money come from?

Read more detail on these cost pressures on page 11 of our consultation document.

Read Financial Strategy

CLOSED: The question tool is now closed to allow the team time to answer all remaining questions ahead of consultation finishing on 12 May. If you have any questions that are not covered by those below, please email ltp@wcc.govt.nz

Check the other questions below - your question may already have an answer.

Note: The question box is to enable us to provide any additional information to you to better inform your submission. We are unable to count any comment submitted in the questions box as a final submission.

Please be concise and respectful in asking questions - we will do our best to respond promptly (usually in two working days). Some answers may take a bit longer to get the details right. We monitor the site from 8:30am - 5pm Monday to Friday

A cost-cutting exercise is necessary to balance the budget while attempting to keep the rates increase as low as possible. Why does the Council not look at staff reduction as a measure and follow the example of the government departments?

Prem asked 10 days ago

Kia ora Prem,
Thank you for your question and your interest in the Long-term Plan.
The answer from the People and Capability team is below:
There is a direct relationship between organisational FTE and the programmes of work and level of service provided by the Council. The 2021 to 2031 Long Term Plan (LTP) significantly increased programmes of work and as a consequence FTE had to increase to deliver this. For this LTP there will be FTE reductions if the proposed levels of services changes and reduced capital works programme is adopted by the Council.
In addition to this, and on top of other savings/efficiencies totaling $19.8m, we have committed to a further $5m reduction in our operating expenses, which amongst other things covers personnel and contractor costs. We are currently working with our leaders on how we will achieve these savings across the Council, prior to the start of the LTP.
Workforce decisions are the responsibility of the CE as the employer. Any proposals for the management of FTE reductions as a result of levels of service, reduced capital programme or other initiatives would need to be consulted upon with employees and the unions in accordance with our good employer obligations.
If you are ready to make a submission click here. Or download a hardcopy submission form here.
Ngā mihi
The Long-term Plan Engagement Team
Where are the actual budget numbers on a line by line basis? I do not want to see estimate per ratepayer etc, I want to see how much each item costs eg How much will the organic waste facility cost and how much will getting the waste there cost? How much revenue will the council lose from green waste and other waste no longer taken to the Southern Landfill?

Julienz asked 16 days ago

Kia ora Julienz,
Thank you for your question and your interest in the Long-term Plan.
The answer from the Waste team is below:
The full budgets in excel and pdf are available on our LTP website here: Information supporting the 10-year-Plan | Let's Talk | Wellington City Council
Option F on page 39 of the consultation document lists the additional operational expenditure and debt impact. Information on this link here under ‘Have your say’ section;
https://www.letstalk.wellington.govt.nz/hub-page/long-term-plan-2024-34
Wellington City Council is partnering with Hutt City Council and Porirua City Council to engage the market on organic processing solutions. The market response will determine the best location of the facility based on factors like cost of operations including transport and its environmental footprint. Council has not made any decision on the future of its green waste operation. This decision will be made upon an analysis of audience using the service, infrastructure resilience that the facility provides for the community to keep using it, and cost of operations. Until then the green waste operation will be running at the Southern Landfill.
If you are ready to make a submission click here. Or download a hardcopy submission form here.
Ngā mihi
The Long-term Plan Engagement Team
To confirm what this is saying is rates will increase 18% this year. You say you get income the airport but are saying you want yo sell yoir shares how are you going to replaced your lost income, the section on the airport sale is unclear.

Soph1234 asked 18 days ago

Kia ora Soph1234,
Thank you for your question and your interest in the Long-term Plan.
The answer from the Finance team is below:
The anticipated return from the Perpetual Investment Fund would be used to replace the current income from the Airport investment. Based on other comparable funds, we anticipate that the perpetual investment fund would generate sufficient returns to enable the Council to take a dividend off the fund approximately equivalent to the airport dividend plus enable some of the return to be reinvested back into the fund to enable it to grow over time.
If you are ready to make a submission click here. Or download a hardcopy submission form here.
Ngā mihi
The Long-term Plan Engagement Team

Page last updated: 08 May 2024, 08:43 AM

How much will the plan cost?

In this Long-term Plan, we know we can continue to invest in making Wellington thrive but need to balance the pace of our investment with what we can afford. As a community, we need to make some tough decisions about what to prioritise.

Where does the money come from?

In this Long-term Plan, we know we can continue to invest in making Wellington thrive but need to balance the pace of our investment with what we can afford. As a community, we need to make some tough decisions about what to prioritise.

Where does the money come from?

A cost-cutting exercise is necessary to balance the budget while attempting to keep the rates increase as low as possible. Why does the Council not look at staff reduction as a measure and follow the example of the government departments?

To confirm what this is saying is rates will increase 18% this year. You say you get income the airport but are saying you want yo sell yoir shares how are you going to replaced your lost income, the section on the airport sale is unclear.

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