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He taiao ora
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He hapori mata-hī awatea
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Ngā hapori e honoa ana, e whakamanatia ana hoki Connected and enabled communities
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He whanaketanga mauri tū roa
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Te Ara Poutama
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Te Mahere ā-Tau
Annual Plan 2025/26
Annual plans are the budgets and activity plans developed by councils for the year ahead. They include details on the main activities and financials to deliver this work, as well as user fees and charges.
Every three years, councils produce a Long Term Plan – a requirement under the Local Government Act. A Long Term Plan sets out the work we plan to do over the next 10 years and how that work will be funded.
For the two years between Long Term Plan reviews, councils prepare an Annual Plan. This sets out any changes or adjustments that have been made from the Long Term Plan (both to our annual goals and budgets).
The budgets in the Annual Plan will be used as the basis for setting rates (general and targeted). After every financial year, we produce an Annual Report to see how we delivered on those goals.
Annual Plan 2025/26 at a glance
With a changing economic climate and shifting direction from Central Government, Councillors recognise that there is a need to address rates affordability while still delivering on the essential services required by our communities.
Year two (2025/26) of the Long Term Plan 2024-34 budgeted for an increase of 8.2%* to general rates and a 6.3%* increase to targeted rates.
We want to reduce the budgeted rates increases, so we’ve made some changes to make this happen.
This means:
- A general rates increase of 3%*
- Reducing the total targeted rates to be collected by 2%*, noting that individual targeted rates are increasing and decreasing various amounts (more on this below)
- $195 million operating expenditure (spending required to deliver our day-to-day services).
- $41 million capital expenditure (the cost to purchase, improve and/or replace assets).
*Figures indicate nominal rates increase, which includes inflation.
The money collected through rates is expected to make up 48% of the funding for our operating expenditure.
Quayside Holdings Ltd, the Regional Council-owned investment company continues to make a significant contribution to Council revenue with $48 million expected to be contributed in the 2025/26 financial year. This revenue allows us to reduce the general rates that would otherwise be charged and ensures our community benefits from these investments.
Please refer to page 28 of the Annual Plan for full details of our sources of income.
Key decisions | Ngā whakatau matua
Through a review, we identified $7.3 million in cost reductions that would mitigate rates increases while maintaining the continuity of essential services and ensured alignment with our strategic priorities.
Key changes include:
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Public Transport: $3.87 million. The government announced a reduced level of funding subsidy from the NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi for public transport services, leading to a review and reduction of the public transport programme.
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Freshwater: $370,000. Delays in planned work following changes to the Resource Management Act in October 2024. Regional Council will continue this work when a new National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management is released.
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Flood Protection and Control: $280,000. Funding from central government has reduced interest and loan costs.
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Rotorua Catchments: $800,000 moved to 2026/27 financial year. The funding for the Ohau Wall has been aligned to the timing of the work. This means total funding for the project ($1.6m) is spread over 2025/26 and 2026/27 financial years with $800,000 in each year.
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Corporate: $627,000. Cost savings through better financial management, reducing interest costs and refining IT systems.
Some of the ways we’re delivering on community outcomes this year
Why was this Annual Plan not consulted on?
Under the Local Government Act 2002, councils are required to consult on the Annual Plan if there are significant or material differences from the Long Term Plan (according to our Significance and Engagement Policy).
While some cost savings were identified, the draft Annual Plan remains consistent with the overall financial and strategic direction set out in the Long Term Plan 2024-34, so consultation was not required.
The budgets in the Annual Plan 2025/26 are then used as the basis for setting rates (general and targeted).
Rates invoices will go out to ratepayers around September, with payment due by 20 October 2025. Those who are paying by direct debt will see their payments adjusted prior to reflect the new budgets. You will receive a letter about this before any changes are made.
To find out the rates for your property for 2025/26, click here.
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Targeted Rates
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LTP Year 1 |
LTP Year 2 |
LTP |
AP |
AP |
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Rotorua Catchments |
4,489 |
3,497 |
-22% |
2,990 |
-33% |
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The main reason for this decrease is that the Rotorua Lakes is transitioning from being funded through a targeted rate to being funded by general rates (as per year two of the LTP). This was consulted on and decided through the Long Term Plan 2024-34 process. We are also deferring $800,000 allocated for the Ohau Wall project in year two of the LTP into next financial year (noting that there is budget to cover any investigatory or maintenance works required during 2025/26). |
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Targeted Rates
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LTP Year 1 |
LTP Year 2 |
LTP |
AP |
AP |
| Rivers & Drainage Schemes | 16,688 | 17,756 | 6% | 17,482 | 5% (total) |
| Kaituna Catchment Rivers Scheme | 3,846 | 4,093 | 6% | 4,051 | 5% |
| Rangitāiki-Tarawera Rivers Scheme | 5,738 | 6,143 | 7% | 6,134 | 7% |
| Whakatane-Tauranga Rivers Scheme | 3,191 | 3,604 | 13% | 3,180 | 0% |
| Waioweka-Otara Rivers Scheme | 1,504 | 1,704 | 13% | 1,606 | 7% |
| Rangitāiki Drainage Scheme | 1,613 | 1,715 | 6% | 1,556 | -4% |
| Minor Rivers and Drainage Schemes | 796 | 497 | -38% | 956 | 20% |
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Overall, there is a 5% total targeted rates increase for the rivers and drainage schemes. Across the rivers and drainage schemes, there are common themes affecting the amount targeted rates are increasing or decreasing. These include higher depreciation of assets due to asset revaluations and reduction in insurance premiums for flood protection assets. The main reason for decreases is that Regional Council was the recipient of $20m in central government funding for new infrastructure projects. This funding has been allocated to stopbanks and pump station upgrades in the Kaituna ($8,420,000), Stage 2 and 3 of Project Future Proof to replace the stopbanks and floodwalls in Whakatāne ($10,690,000), and stopbank upgrades in and around Ōpōtiki ($1,200,000). Minor Rivers and Drainage Schemes increase The increase to the minor river and drainage schemes reflects actual costs incurred for the schemes, which differ from what was budgeted in year two of the LTP. In the Rangitāiki Plains, there are 34 communal pump schemes where Regional Council manages, but does not own, the assets within these schemes. These schemes operate on a user pays system, where 100% of the targeted rates for these schemes go towards the management and maintenance of assets (mainly pump stations) that specifically benefit these landowners. These targeted rates are separate from the targeted rates for the major rivers and drainage schemes. |
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Targeted Rates
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LTP Year 1 |
LTP Year 2 |
LTP |
AP |
AP |
| Transport Service Delivery | 21,119 | 24,009 | 14% | 20,719 | -2% (total) |
| Tauranga City | 16,309 | 19,217 | 18% | 16,276 | 0% |
| Western Bay District | 909 | 2,996 | 15% | 902 | -1% |
| Rotorua Urban | 3,265 | 1,043 | -8% | 2,863 | -12% |
| Whakatāne District | 636 | 752 | 18% | 678 | 7% |
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Overall, there is a 2% decrease in all transport service delivery targeted rates. The main driver for this is a reprioritisation of projects, following a reduction in funding subsidy from the NZ Transport Agency for public transport services. These include Pāpāmoa Park and Ride Trial, tertiary commuter services, bus de-carbonisation initiatives and travel demand management. Further to this, there was a reduction of $2.3m into the Urban Form and Transport Initiative (UFTI) for Tauranga city (due to no upcoming projects planned for 2025/26 in the UFTI programme), and the network refresh in Rotorua has been deferred. |
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Targeted Rates
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LTP Year 1 |
LTP Year 2 |
LTP |
AP |
AP |
| Regional Safety and Rescue Services | 695 | 722 | 4% | 716 | 3% |
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Reflects a 1% reduction from what was budgeted in Year 2 of LTP. This was due to efficiencies made. |
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Targeted Rates |
LTP Year 1 |
LTP Year 2 |
LTP |
AP |
AP |
| Emergency Management | 5,017 | 5,139 | 2% | 5,332 | 6% |
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The main reason for this increase is the ‘vacancy factor’ assumption. This refers to the percentage of open, unfilled positions within an organisation relative to the total number of positions. |
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| Total combined targeted rates increase / decrease: | 48,008 | 51,123 | 6% | 47,239 | -2% |
*Figures are nominal rates increase, meaning it includes inflation.