Draft Annual Plan next month
A draft version of Christchurch City Council's Annual Plan for 2005/06 will be released and open for comments from the public on 11 April this year.
The year's process will differ considerably from past years, however, because of changes to the Local Government Act (LGA).
The Act still requires councils to produce plans each year, but for two of each three years, it can be in a simpler form than in the past. The detailed planning and associated budget-setting now appears every third year, in a document called a Long Term Council Community Plan (Community Plan, or LTCCP).
In the process of producing the Community Plan every third year, councils are expected to work with their communities, look forward and give a good indication of the scope and breadth of future activities for at least the next three years and with indicative plans for up to 10 years.In the years between formulating and setting a Community Plan, Councils are not easily able to make radical departures or changes. To do so, they would first need to undertake a comprehensive system of public consultation and amendment.
"The Council put together its first Community Plan last year," says Roy Baker, the Council General Manager of Corporate Services. "We wanted to test the process and it's proved a success."
Christchurch City Council will produce its next Community Plan next year (2006). "People considering making suggestions about Council activities may find that their submissions are best directed to that process," Mr Baker says.
Christchurch City Council's proposed activities and budgets for the coming year will be published in this year's Annual Plan and submissions from the public will still be taken.
"People are still welcome to comment on the draft Annual Plan, but because of the reduced size and content of the document, it's anticipated that little will change from draft to final form," Mr Baker says.Next year, submissions will be taken on the more comprehensive Community Plan. Included will be the Community Outcomes section. These are identified by the community, and belong to the community.
Submissions about the Community Plan are the main way you can influence the Council's role in your community. To see the current Community Outcomes and learn more about the process for the next (2006-2016) Community Plan, visit www.ccc.govt.nz/LTCCP/CommunityOutcomes.
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