No funding will be cut from Mackenzie roading budgets, Mayor Graham Smith has clarified, following a draft annual plan tabled at a council meeting on May 7. The proposed 2019/20 variances from the Long Term Plan (LTP) were discussed at the meeting in order to decide whether the suggested changes needed to go to public consultation. Smith said the decision not to spend more on roading was consistent with the community's preference during the LTP consultation process. "In accordance with the community's preference for the low-cost low-risk option, the roading budget of approximately $300,000 for the 2019/20 financial year remains the same," he said. The council moved that the proposed variances from the LTP were not significant enough to require public consultation and will now go ahead with drafting the full plan.

Source: Stuff May 10, 2019 00:22 UTC