I’m usually pretty good at remembering important dates but one slipped past the week before last that I’ve only just cottoned on to.

October 8 was a year since the local government elections, meaning we are 1/3 of the way through this term. So, what have been the highlights looking back?

Firstly was welcoming the new council together. As Mayor, I get to spend a fair bit of time with councils from around the country and I am sincere in the belief that we have one of the best groups of people sitting as a council anywhere.

One of the joys of being Mayor here is that I am not having to look over my shoulder or pull knives out of my back regularly as we see some mayors not that far away having to do.  

Every one of your councillors is here to do the best for you and for those that follow us; not for their own ambitions and egos. I, and we, are very lucky.

Seeing our carbon footprint drop by around 60% since we aimed at a lofty target of 55% four years ago is just wonderful.  Most of the low-hanging fruit in this regard has now been picked, but we will keep working towards further reductions.

It was also great to see one of the most comprehensive waste collection systems in the country kick in this year.  I have had so many people say how good it is having a green bin and I’m looking forward to seeing the figures in a year or so time of how many thousands of kilos of waste we together are diverting from landfill.

And, it was a thrill to open the Lake Dunstan Water Supply, bringing fully compliant and lower lime water to Alexandra and Clyde as well as seeing the first stage of the Clyde wastewater scheme come on line.

We also had our former CEO Sanchia Jacobs leave after five years in the role and welcomed new CEO Peter Kelly who is already fitting into the organisation and the community really well.

So, that’s what we’ve got behind us, but what’s ahead for the remaining 2/3’s of the term?  This is where I have to get all a bit Churchill “blood, toil, tears and sweat” I’m afraid.

We have got some massive costs coming up as a district. A lot of work needs done on our bridges and, keeping in mind nothing is settled until we know what Waka Kotahi will contribute, this alone is looking at going to cost a 2-3% increase in rates year on year for the next five years.

Then there is the dreaded Three Waters. We have been ordered by the regulator Taumata Arowai to bring our three protozoa non-compliant plants up to standard faster than we have budgeted to do so, at the same time as the cost of doing so has skyrocketed.  

This work and the other things we need to do now the change of government means the Three Waters liabilities stay with council are going to make the bridge rates increase component look small.

Then we have other things we can’t control such as increased depreciation and insurance costs alongside extortionate audit fees and there are huge rate increases coming.  

There is no easy way to say it, and no-one on your council is happy about it, believe me.

We have little we can control, but management have been told to come with us with ways we can cut costs.  

We run a fairly lean machine as it is, so this means we need to be looking at, and discussing with you through the LTP (Long Term Plan) process, if there are things as a community we are going to need to do without.

I can see why Churchill had such a legendary drinking problem.