Investing in regional benefit

In the past, the Regional Council has helped fund large-scale Bay of Plenty projects that benefit the region economically, environmentally, socially and culturally. Through our funding agreements for each project, we work in partnership with the organisations that receive this funding to ensure delivery.

Regional Councillors carefully weigh up all funding requests to ensure they will meet our objectives, will be in the best interests of the community and that, over time, the mix of projects funded bring benefits for all parts of our region.

Projects that we have helped fund since 2019

• Ōpōtiki Harbour Transformation ($20 million): Transforming the harbour to develop the aquaculture industry and unlock the wider potential of other marine industries, creating jobs.
• University of Waikato-led Tertiary Campus ($15 million): Attracting students, revenue and jobs to the region, and helping revitalise the Tauranga city centre.
• Tauranga Marine Precinct ($5 million): Providing marine industrial space in Tauranga to provide jobs, and allow more marine industry and maintenance in Tauranga to support commercial fishing and similar businesses.
• Forestry Innovation Hub at Scion Research Institute ($2.5 million): A business and innovation cluster in Rotorua to increase jobs and export earnings.
• Environmental infrastructure ($2.5 million): Helping the region with environmental infrastructure, such as new wastewater systems in the Western Bay of Plenty and Rotorua catchments, and flood management infrastructure in the Eastern and Western Bay of Plenty, as well as extensive lakes restoration in the Rotorua district.
• Rotorua Museum/Te Whare Taonga o Te Arawa ($4.1 million): Redevelopment of the Rotorua Museum.
• Tarawera Sewerage Scheme ($1.75 million): A contribution alongside Central Government and Rotorua Lakes Council to guarantee the success of the scheme, and reduce risks to human health and water quality.

Through the Long Term Plan 2024-2034, we decided to put any future investment in regional infrastructure on hold to help manage costs to ratepayers through challenging economic times. However, we have since received several funding requests for large-scale projects. We are now considering whether and how to provide funding to other organisations through the Annual Plan 2026/27.

Please note, through the Long Term Plan 2024-2034, the Regional Council decided to put all support for new wastewater funding on hold until a new Water Quality Funding Support Policy was able to be developed and approved by the Regional Council. The Water Quality Funding Support Policy is expected to be considered as part of the Long Term Plan 2027-2037.

What are we proposing?

We are seeking community feedback to help us decide whether we should establish a Regional Benefit Fund 2026/27 (working title). This would be to support third parties (such as local councils or organisations) to deliver large-scale infrastructure projects that align with our community outcomes and provide regional benefit.

The proposed initial allocation of funding would be from accumulated funds and from increased dividends from our investments with Quayside Holdings Ltd (Quayside). If we decide to proceed with establishing the Regional Benefit Fund 2026/27 through the Annual Plan 2026/27 process, the funding would be available from the 2026/27 financial year.

Further details on eligibility and access to this fund would be announced following the adoption of the Annual Plan 2026/27 (end of June 2026).

Why are we proposing this Regional Benefit Fund?

Through the proposed Long Term Plan Amendment (see page 15), we intend to provide an ongoing source of funding for these types of infrastructure projects. If the proposed amendment goes ahead, this funding would not be available until at least 2027/28, therefore we are looking to bridge the timing gap and meet an immediate need for the 2026/27 financial year.

How do we propose to establish the Regional Benefit Fund?

We plan to use a combination of funding from:¹⁰

• The Regional Fund Reserve
• Increased dividends from Quayside

¹⁰ These options are appropriate under the Local Government Act 2002, and in keeping with our current Financial Strategy and Revenue and Financing Policy.

Regional Fund Reserve

We maintain several financial reserves, including the Regional Fund Reserve. This reserve is used mainly to fund large-scale infrastructure projects that provide enduring benefits for the community – for example, we used $4.1 million of this fund to contribute towards the restoration of the Rotorua Museum (as decided through the Long Term Plan 2021-2031).

When we use this fund, the amount taken is replenished over time via general rates. This is to ensure the reserve is maintained at a sustainable level for future projects. As a guide, $10 million reserve use equals $5.20 per ratepayer per year for approximately 20 years (roughly a 1.5% increase to general rates overall).

This reserve has an available balance of approximately $10 million. We could allocate up to $7 million to the Regional Benefit Fund 2026/27 after allowing for other commitments.

Quayside special dividend for 2025/26

Due to the positive financial performance of the Port of Tauranga, we have requested an additional special dividend (payment) from Quayside of $6.2 million to be paid in 2025/26, with its use to be considered though the Annual Plan 2026/27. This amount is still to be confirmed and partially relies on investment returns in 2025/26.

We could use up to $3 million of this special dividend to fund infrastructure projects with regional benefit.

Quayside dividend increase for 2026/27

Our predicted dividend from Quayside for 2026/27 was $49 million. Following recent presentations from the Quayside Board, we are now expecting a $60 million dividend for 2026/27 – an increase of $11 million.

This amount is partially dependent on investment returns in 2025/26 and 2026/27. We propose using up to $11 million of this increase to fund projects through the proposed Regional Benefit Fund 2026/27.

The remaining amount will be used to help fund the Regional Council’s core work (see the work we do), accumulated in reserve funds for future use, or by reducing general rates (in line with the Regional Council’s Financial Strategy).

When the Regional Council makes final decisions on the Annual Plan 2026/27, Councillors may consider other funding options that may be available.