That’s the challenge that Tararua District Council put to their communities over six weeks of conversations about the next 10 years of council spending.

Named the “Budget Challenge” and built in-house by council staff, the initiative was designed to inspire early conversation about what council will do and spend over the next ten years, also known as the Long Term Plan 2027-2037 (the “LTP”). The conversation was open from 20 April to 31 May 2026 and drew 445 responses from across the district – in person, online, and in writing.

The results went to elected members at a council workshop yesterday, at their 15 July LTP workshop. All LTP workshops are open to the public, livestreamed and the recordings can be viewed on the Council’s YouTube Channel (@landofranges). At the workshop, elected members heard and discussed the results of the public engagement; no decisions were made.

Over the six-week engagement period the council ran three overlapping pieces of engagement, the LTP budget challenge (445 responses), the amalgamation engagement (409 responses) and the Community Voice Survey (120 responses), engaging with nearly 1,000 people in total.

Elected members were particularly impressed with results of the new and innovate yet low-cost approach, with Mayor Scott welcoming the new methods:

"The result achieved is extraordinary, especially comparing this to past early engagements and the time and cost that went into those with very little response, and despite the Central Government Reform announcement, and the necessary separate engagement that landed at the same time. A lot of people just don't engage with local government, and the fact that the team were able to, at a low cost, create a tool that got the results and insights we got is a huge credit to those involved.”

Chief Executive, Corin Haines, also acknowledged the increased rate of engagement:

"For a population of about 18,000, a statistically relevant sample is about 370 or above, so we're in a space where we're getting a return that gives us a good feel of where we need to be. It's groundbreaking, the way we're doing it, and I think it's just going to keep building."

How people took part

The Budget Challenge asked a simple question. If you had $1,000 to spend across council services, where would you put it? The options: Roading & Transportation, Community Spaces & Services, Looking After Our Environment, Running the Council, Growing Our District, and Consents & Licensing.

There were different ways to take part:

• 238 people did it online. The online tool started them at council's current spending mix and asked them to change it.
• 183 people did it in person. Voting stations in Dannevirke, Pahiatua, Woodville and Eketāhuna.
• 24 people filled in a printed form. Forms were available to print or collect, and the form was published in the Bush Telegraph twice throughout the six weeks.
• 6 locals shared their views in writing; 5 of them were students. They each shared their priorities for future council spending, and why they felt that way.

How to view the results

All the results, including every comment received, are now available online in an interactive dashboard: https://www.tararuadc.govt.nz/LTP-full-results

Further detail and an expanded summary and analysis of results is available in the agenda for the 15 July workshop: https://tararua.infocouncil.biz

Quick facts

• Every township in the district was represented.
• More than half the people who took part online were under 45.
• 515 comment responses to “what should council keep, start and stop doing”.
• 175 people that took park were happy with council’s new strategic framework.
• All but one of the 54 people that felt the strategic framework “needed work” shared a comment on why they felt that way, helping to form the changes recommended to council at workshop on 15 July (included within the agenda)

Councillor Peter Johns shared how this differed from his previous experiences:

“I've been fairly cynical about engagement, having experienced several over the last 16 years, most of which was a lot of work, effort and cost for very little return. So well done, congratulations."

While Councillor Keshaan Te Waaka welcomed how accessible the results are:

"It's super easy to read, and I think it's going to be great for young people in particular to be able to see, in plain English, what's going on and what people prioritise."

What happens next

• People can view the full results online* at: www.tararuadc.govt.nz/LTP-full-results
• The spending priorities shared by the community, and the comments about why, will help to shape the LTP as it is being drafted.
• Council may come back to the community with some more early conversations about some of the main issues raised by the community through the Budget Challenge.
• The draft will be shared with the community as part of a larger and more structured conversation in March 2027.

* Council is happy to provide a hard copy (printed version) of the results – call 06 374 4080 or email info@tararuadc.govt.nz to request this.

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Learn more about the Long Term Plan 2027-2037