Govt asks councils to redirect $245m of promised funding
Funding for millions of dollars worth of community projects is at risk as the Government asks councils to redirect previously promised funding into water infrastructure.
The Government wants councils across New Zealand to re-allocate $245 million committed by the former Government as part of the Three Waters “Better Off” funding.
In Christchurch, this includes $9m towards the $29m rebuild of South Library, more than $5m on tree planting, $1.6m on safer school neighbourhoods, and close to $3m given to community boards to allocate to projects.
About $500m was allocated to councils across the country in 2022 to recognise the impact of shifting water assets and services to controversial new water service entities.
The new Government has ditched that approach to Three Water reform and is now allowing councils to form their own water organisations.
The Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) has written to every council across New Zealand asking them to review the status of their Better Off projects and is “encouraging” them to redirect any unspent money into water infrastructure or to help establish their own new water entities.
DIA has paid out $255m up to the end of April, leaving $245m unspent across the country.
Christchurch City Council received $30m and while it has allocated all of the money to projects, DIA says $24m of that is unspent.
Selwyn received $5.6m and DIA says $5m is unspent, while Waimakariri got $5.5m and close to $5m has not yet been spent.
In Selwyn, it planned to put $5m toward the Lincoln town centre development. In Waimakariri a number of climate change resilience programmes and the Woodend to Kaiapoi cycleway were also due to get Better Off funding.
When asked if DIA was going to force councils to redirect their unspent funds, a DIA spokesperson said any potential redirection would “only occur by mutual agreement”.
“The department is working in partnership with councils to identify opportunities for councils to redirect unspent Better Off funding.”
The spokesperson said they recognised that councils had active projects under way and had made commitments for future spend therefore they would discuss the issue individually with each council to see if there were any “opportunities” to redirect unspent funds.
Christchurch City Council interim chief executive Mary Richardson said staff would have a discussion with councillors during a briefing next week regarding the funding programme.
She said all the funding had been allocated to projects and would be delivered over the next three years.
No decision had been made to alter the funding agreement at this stage, Richardson said.
In Christchurch, each of the city’s five urban community boards received $500,000 to fund local initiatives run by organisations and groups to increase climate resilience and improve wellbeing. The Banks Peninsula Community Board received $300,000.
Many of the boards have already approved funding for a number of community projects.
Halswell Hornby Riccarton Community Board allocated the remaining amount of its funding ($367,500) at a meeting yesterday.
The largest single chunk of funding approved was $119,500 to the Riccarton Community Church Trust for a mobile youth centre. Some $50,000 was also given to the Halswell Community Patrol to purchase a patrol car and put toward operational costs.
The Spreydon Cashmere Heathcote Community Board also met yesterday and approved $181,466 worth of Better Off grants to four organisations.