2022–2025 term of the Hastings District Council

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The Hastings District Council’s 2022–2025 term is its twelfth term, elected on 8 October 2022. The council, led by Mayor Sandra Hazlehurst and Deputy Mayor Tania Kerr, does not have a clear party majority. The term has focused on recovering from Cyclone Gabrielle, fixing infrastructure, addressing crime, supporting its youth council, and managing finances.

Key events and developments
- By-elections in May 2024 brought Hana Montaperto-Hendry (Heretaunga general seat) and Heather Te Au-Skipworth (Takitimu Māori ward) to the council after resignations and illness.
- In 2024, central government provided about $1.47 million for cyclone-affected road infrastructure. Major repairs to Napier-Taihape Road were approved in July 2024 and began in August; there were calls to make the road part of the state highway network.
- The council established voluntary buyouts for unsafe properties damaged by the cyclone. Of 153 Category 3 properties, 24 were bought outright; the rest received relocation grants while owners kept ownership. Costs were shared with the central government.
- The Long-Term Plan forecast $17 million per year for 16 years to support cyclone recovery. The council’s CEO called the plan very challenging, and the mayor noted about $155 million spent in the previous year on cyclone response.
- The Hastings District Youth Council, made up of local youths, gained voting rights on subcommittees in September 2024 after a tie-breaking vote by the mayor. These rights apply only to subcommittees, not full council. The move sparked mixed reactions, with protests from the Taxpayers’ Union.
- The Takitimu Māori ward, created in 2022, will be retained. A referendum on its future is planned for the 2025 local elections after government pressure to review Māori wards.
- In July 2024 the council won a court case against two anti-fluoridation groups; the groups were ordered to pay about $20,470 in costs. Fluoridation of the district’s water was reintroduced in 2024.
- The council bought the Tōmoana Showgrounds in April 2023, and the grandstand was demolished in 2024 due to structural issues.
- Financial pressures remained high after Cyclone Gabrielle. The initial 2024–25 rates rise proposal of 25% was reduced to 19% in the 2024–2034 Long-Term Plan. Planned future increases include 15% in 2025/26 (6% for cyclone recovery), 10% in 2026/27, and 4% urban plus 7% rural in 2027/28. The district’s debt was around $400 million in 2024 and could exceed $700 million by 2030. The CEO was tasked with finding about $2.7 million in savings to ease ratepayer costs.