Design your ideal services
Welcome, haere mai.
We're building the plan for the next 10 years and we're happy that you're here, because this is your plan too.
A Long Term Plan, or LTP, is the 10 year plan every council in New Zealand must prepare. It sets out the services we deliver, the projects we fund, and how much it costs the people who live here and the people who pay rates here. We refresh it every three years, and that includes having conversations with the community before we put pen to paper.
We started conversations about the next 10 years in April this year through the Budget Challenge.
You choose the topics you want to give feedback on. You can do all three or just the ones you want. If you don't choose a topic at the start, you'll have an option to add it on later. Select your topics to get started.
Prefer paper? Copies are at any Libraries Tararua branch or your nearest service centre. You can also write to us at info@tararuadc.govt.nz or PO Box 115, Dannevirke 4942, before midnight, Sunday 27 September 2026.
Do you use our libraries?
When would your library be open?
Tap or drag across the grid to paint the days and times you'd actually use your library.
Monday to Friday: 9am to 5:30pm
Saturday: 10am to 1pm
Monday to Friday: 10:30am to 12:30pm and 1pm to 4:30pm
Monday to Friday: 9am to 5pm
Saturday: 10am to 12pm
Monday to Friday: 9am to 5pm
Nothing painted yet — tap a few squares to see this update.
What would you use it for?
Drag the books so the ones you use most are at the top.
Tap and hold an item, then drag to move it.
What would you add to it?
Tap the things you'd love to see in your ideal library. Add as many or as few as you like.
What matters most to you?
If we could only improve a few things, what should we start with? Drag the most important to the top.
Tap and hold an item, then drag to move it.
Your ideal library
Here's the library you've designed. Happy with it, or want to change something?
Economic Development
One of the choices ahead is: how much money should, or shouldn't, be spent on things that help local businesses and towns to grow? The choices made now can set the pace for the next 10 years, the 10 years after that, and, if done well, the 10 years after that too.
Economic development is the work of helping a place's economy grow and thrive, so there are more jobs, more local businesses, and more opportunities for the people who live here. It can mean promoting the district, supporting key industries, attracting investment and visitors, helping build local skills, and backing community-led projects. The goal is a stronger local economy that makes life better for everyone over the long term.
Before you build, here's the lowdown
Take a quick look at some of the things Council needs to consider when making decisions about future spending or investment.
The purpose of local government is to support the social, economic, environmental and cultural wellbeing of communities in the present and for the future. Each community has different needs and goals that their council is working to support.
View the Local Government Act 2002 Tap to closeCentral Government is proposing to change the purpose of councils. Instead of a broad wellbeing purpose, councils would focus on delivering quality, cost effective infrastructure, public services and regulatory functions that support local economic growth and meet current and future community needs.
View the Systems Improvement Bill Tap to closeThe proposed law change introduces rates capping. This would apply to all rates, including general rates, targeted rates and uniform annual charges. Rates are the main source of council funding and have been for more than 100 years.
Read more about rates capping Tap to closeCentral Government is proposing to Simplify Local Government. This could mean a change to how local government is delivered, such as combining with other councils, or an increase in shared services.
How this affects the Tararua District Tap to closeThe results of the recent Budget Challenge showed us that our communities are genuinely split on their views about economic development.
Let's talk about what we might be able to realistically achieve. Tell us your plan and share your ideas.
Here's what we're doing in this space now
Right now, Council does not have a dedicated economic development team or service. What we do in this space is small, and it is mostly about partnerships. Have a read, and tell us how you feel about each activity.
We promote Tararua where we can as part of our general communications. There is no dedicated role for promotion and marketing. Currently, Council runs small promotions, backs local events, and is a supporter of large programmes of work and big opportunities, such as the new Te Ahu a Tūranga highway.
We work alongside community boards and committees to build Community Plans that set out each town's aspirations and the projects that matter most to them. These plans also help attract funding from trusts and agencies.
We're proposing a different approach
We can't do everything - so we're proposing a few things that are most likely to make a difference. Use the slider to show how much focus Council should put on each area.
If all focus areas were set to max, it is estimated that may cost around $150k per year. Where there is an expected cost to increase focus on an area, we have shown the likely amount.
We want to be clear: We've included these amounts so you can make informed choices about what an increased focus would cost; not because that's how much we think should be spent. This would be a new spend item and would be formally consulted on before any decisions were locked in.
Drag the slider to see what this level of focus might mean in practice.
Drag the slider to see what this level of focus might mean in practice.
Drag the slider to see what this level of focus might mean in practice.
What else might we focus on?
Beyond those three, are there other areas you would like Council to put effort into? Tap any that matter to you.
Your economic development answers
Here's what you've told us. Happy with it, or want to change something?
Footpaths
Footpaths are one of the everyday things that shape how easy it is to get around your town. We want to understand how much they matter to you, whether you would pay more for them, and what a 10 year footpath plan would look like if you built it.
Before you get started, here's the lowdown:
Rates are the money property owners pay to the Council each year. There are two kinds. General rates are shared by everyone and pay for things the whole district uses. Targeted rates are only paid by the people who get a set service, like a town water scheme. Footpaths come out of general rates, so the whole district helps pay for them. About $1.29 of every $100 of rates goes to footpaths.
Tap to closeNZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) is the government agency for transport. It helps pay for some footpath work through a subsidy, so the government covers a share and rates cover the rest. Before 2018, footpaths were paid for entirely by ratepayers. The total budget to spend on footpaths can go up or down depending on how much central government funding is available. The amount of subsidy is calculated once every three years. Currently NZTA pays for 73c out of every $1 we spend on transport in Tararua.
Tap to closeEach year we ask residents how happy they are with our services. In the most recent survey, just over half (55%) were satisfied or very satisfied with footpaths. About 1 in 6 (17%) felt neither happy nor unhappy, and just under a third (29%) were not satisfied. That is a mixed result, so we want to hear what is working well and what is not.
Tap to closeProperty owners are responsible for looking after the vehicle entranceways (crossings) to their property. These are part of the footpath route, but Council generally looks after the public footpath, while the property owner looks after the crossing that serves their property.
Tap to closeWhere do you spend most of your time?
Footpaths are local, so it helps to know which town you are talking about.
You and footpaths
Footpaths are part of how we get around every day, whether we're walking to the shops, taking the kids to school, walking the dog or getting from A to B. Tell us your experience: what's working well and what could be better?
What about kerb and channel?
Kerb and channel are the concrete edging and drainage channel that run alongside the road, next to the footpath. They're maintained together, so work on one often means work on the other.
Should we invest more in local footpaths?
Keeping footpaths in good shape costs money. The more we spend, the more we can do, but spending more means more pressure on rates or doing less in another area.
Remember:
- The annual transport budget from 2024-2027 was $62 million
- About $1.29 of every $100 of rates goes to footpaths.
- About 73% of the cost is covered by a subsidy
- Any spending over and above the approved subsidy must be fully funded by rates
Would you pay more rates for it?
More investment in footpaths usually means more from rates. How do you feel about that?
Would you rather?
We're focused on affordability, so spending more on footpaths could mean spending less in other areas. Use the cards below to help us understand whether you would rather spend on footpaths, or another service. This gives us a better understanding of where footpaths stand in comparison to the other things that we do.
Show us what matters most
These are the main things we do for footpaths right now. Put them in the order you think matters most. Drag so the top of the list is Year 1, the first thing to do, down to Year 10, the one that can wait.
Tap and hold an item, then drag to move it.
Your footpath answers
Here's what you've told us. Happy with it, or want to change something?
A little about you
This helps us understand who we're hearing from. You can choose "Prefer not to say" for any of them.
If you would rather not share your age, gender, connection to the district, please select "Prefer not to say". We are not collecting personal information for this engagement. Any personal information you choose to include is kept confidential and will not be published.
How did we do?
A couple of quick questions about this tool itself. It helps us make the next one better.
Thanks, that's really helpful
Your feedback is in! Thanks for helping to shape the Long Term Plan for next 10 years.
Remember, nothing we've talked about here is locked in. Right now, we're gathering your views so that we can come back for formal consultation in March 2027; an even bigger conversation with clearer choices and more detailed information.