Assessing $204m cyclone recovery package

Community consultation has started to decide if the region accepts a government cyclone recovery package that still leaves the council with a repair bill in the hundreds of millions.

Last month, the Government issued a “take it or leave it” support package of $204 million — well short of Gisborne District Council’s original recovery cost assessment of more than $1 billion.

The offer includes $125m for roading and bridge repairs, $64m for flood protection and $15m for the 50/50 cost sharing for the purchase of properties deemed too dangerous to live in due to flood or land instability risk.

The council also negotiated a $30m interest-free loan for 10 years to fund its share of the Category 3 property buyouts and assist its funding of cyclone recovery efforts.

Mayor Rehette Stoltz said this would be an important decision for the community as it impacted everyone.

“Under the Government’s land categorisation framework, these severely impacted areas are called Category 3 properties. So far, we have 47 of these properties in the region.

“The Government support package will enable us to offer to purchase these properties to ensure these whānau can move on with their lives.

“They’ve been out of their homes for over seven months now and if they choose to sell, then this will give them some certainty for their future.

“It’s an all or nothing offer, so you need to have your say.”

The consultation round includes opportunities to ask councillors about the funding offer.

The council says the offer will go a long way towards helping the region to recover and provide resilience in the future.

“We still need a lot more money, but this is a significant amount.”

It also says that accepting the offer will amount to a 1 percent rates increase in 2024/25.

“Whether we accept the Government’s offer or not, there’s likely to be an increase in rates to meet additional recovery costs.

“When negotiations with the Government began, council was facing a total repair cost of $1.1 billion. This is mainly made up of roading costs.

“The negotiations aimed to secure the best support package from Government, to help repair our infrastructure and enable our communities to be safe and connected, while keeping impacts on rates as low as possible.”

Councillors will be at a number of hui across the region during the next two weeks to answer questions people might have about the package and about recovery in general.

Face-to-face public meetings started in Tokomaru Bay, with a series of other events scheduled across the region.

City residents can attend another event today, at the HB Williams Library, at 5.30pm.

To get involved go to the GDC website and read the consultation document or have your say — https://participate.gdc.govt.nz/cyclone-support-package-offer

Feedback closes at 5pm on Monday, October 16.