Te Poari ā-Rohe o Māngere-Ōtāhuhu

Māngere-Ōtāhuhu Local Board

Illustration of children playing in a park. Two children walk together while one holds a frisbee. Behind them, two other children sit on swings. The background shows green hills, trees and a kererū in a tree.

Our funding for 2026/2027

We have been allocated $10.9 million for capital investment and $26.7 million for operational spend in 2026/2027.

Capital investment

We use these funds to renew and develop assets like:

  • community facilities
  • parks and sports fields.

Operating spend

We use these funds to run our services like:

  • community centres
  • libraries and parks
  • community and environmental programmes and events.

The $26.7 million for operational spend in 2026/2027 includes:

  • $23.4 million for community services
  • $500,000 for environmental services
  • $1.6 million for planning services
  • $1.1 million for governance (how we manage our local board area).

These figures are rounded to the nearest $100,000.

A lot of our operating budget will pay for existing contracts to maintain community facilities and open spaces.

Cost increases

We are also facing cost increases that will affect our operating budget. These include:

  • rising costs to provide our existing services, including utilities like electricity and water
  • maintaining our assets like community centres, libraries and parks
  • staff costs.

At the same time, we are making less revenue than expected from fees and charges.

In 2026/2027, we expect to spend $1.05 million more than we did in 2025/2026 to continue providing these services. This amount might change before the final annual plan is adopted.

Changes to current service levels

To address the cost increases we are facing, we could make some or all of the following changes to service levels:

  • reduce library opening hours to 44 hours a week (six hours a day) at four of our libraries
  • stop maintenance of bollards and 'post-and-rail' fencing
  • stop maintenance in bush areas, except for high-value or ecologically important areas
  • use chemicals instead of garden edging materials to separate grass and soil from footpaths and berms (grassy strip beside the road)
  • stop extra planting and mulching in public gardens
  • reduce maintenance on planted and natural bush areas in urban settings
  • reduce:
    • discretionary funding for grants (funding that a local board can choose to give to community groups or projects, based on local priorities and available budget)
    • community wellbeing programmes and services
    • environment management programmes and services
  • increase entry fees by $1 for 'Adult Plus Only' spa, sauna and steam room services at Moana Nui-ā-Kiwa Pool and Leisure Centre in Māngere.

Other ways we could address cost increases

Leisure centre charges

We could also charge adults from outside the local board area to swim at Moana-Nui-a-Kiwa Pool and Leisure Centre and Ōtāhuhu Pool and Leisure Centre (Toia) (currently a free service). While this would not cover cost increases, it would reduce our targeted rates for swimming pools.

Local Services Targeted Rate

We could introduce a Local Services Targeted Rate of $47.11 a year, or 91 cents a week including goods and services tax (GST) for every separately used or inhabited part of a property (SUIP). This would apply to all rateable properties except those categorised as ‘zero-rated’ like some Māori freehold land.

Unlike most other targeted rates that must be spent on a specific service, this rate can be used for any local board operating costs. This means we can keep providing the local services, projects and programmes that matter to our community.

If we do propose this targeted rate, the Governing Body would decide if we would introduce it or not.

Combination of rates, charges and fees

To help fund higher costs to provide our services, we could also introduce a combination of:

  • a lower targeted rate to deliver existing services
  • changes to some current service levels
  • an increase to some fees and charges.

Have your say

We want to know what you think about our plans for the Māngere-Ōtāhuhu Local Board area.

Have your say now

You should know

The information on this page is an edited version of the:

  • Annual Plan 2026/2027 Consultation Document
  • Annual Plan 2026/2027 Supporting Information Document.

You can refer to pages 38-43 of the Annual Plan 2026/2027 Supporting Information Document for more details about our proposals for the Māngere-Ōtāhuhu Local Board area.

Visit Annual plan documents, videos and translations to read all annual plan documents in full.