2149 days ago

Financial assistance for Kāpiti community and business

Virginia Fallon Reporter from Kāpiti Observer

Kāpiti Coast District Council has announced a range of immediate changes to support local people and businesses in response to COVID-19.

At a special briefing this week the Council agreed to:
· Remove rates late payment penalties for rest of 2019/20
· A June 2020 rates payment holiday for those impacted by COVID-19
· Waive rent payments for three months for major tenants
· Rapid supplier payments, aiming for seven-day payments
· 90-day credit terms for invoices
· Refund consent deposits and fees if applicants request to withdraw their application
· Refund a quarter of fees for food, alcohol and outdoor dining licenses paid in the current financial year
· Increase weighting for local businesses in procurement processes
· Allow Community Boards to repurpose unallocated discretionary grants for 2019/20 to COVID-19 response initiatives
· Flexibility to repurpose remaining social investment grants in 2019/20 as appropriate
· Extend existing library book loans by six weeks
The Council is also reviewing its 2020/21 budget to find further savings, and will continue to assess the situation as the full impacts of COVID-19 continue to become clear and respond accordingly.

Those interested in accessing support will be able to visit www.kapiticoast.govt.nz... or call 04 296 4700 or 0800 486 486 to register interest. A dedicated email address will be activated shortly.

More messages from your neighbours
16 hours ago

Poll: Are you still heading to your local for your caffeine fix, or has the $$ changed your habits? ☕

The Team from Neighbourly.co.nz

Wellington’s identity is built on its cafe culture, but with costs climbing, that culture is under pressure. We’ve seen the headlines about recent closures, and it’s a tough pill to swallow along with a $6+ coffee.

We all want our favourite spots to stay open, but we also have to balance our own budgets ⚖️

We want to know: How are you handling the "coffee math" in 2026? Are you still heading to your local for a chat and a caffeine fix, or has the cost of living changed your habits?

Keen to read more about "coffee math"? The Post has you covered.

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Are you still heading to your local for your caffeine fix, or has the $$ changed your habits? ☕
  • 37.9% I avoid spending money on coffee
    37.9% Complete
  • 49.5% I still indulge at my local cafe
    49.5% Complete
  • 12.6% Irrelevant - coffee is not for me
    12.6% Complete
95 votes
3 days ago

Some Choice News!

Kia pai from Sharing the Good Stuff

DOC is rolling out a new tool to help figure out what to tackle first when it comes to protecting our threatened species and the things putting them at risk.

Why does this matter? As Nikki Macdonald from The Post points out, we’re a country with around 4,400 threatened species. With limited time and funding, conservation has always meant making tough calls about what gets attention first.

For the first time, DOC has put real numbers around what it would take to do everything needed to properly safeguard our unique natural environment. The new BioInvest tool shows the scale of the challenge: 310,177 actions across 28,007 sites.

Now that we can see the full picture, it brings the big question into focus: how much do we, as Kiwis, truly value protecting nature — and what are we prepared to invest to make it happen?

We hope this brings a smile!

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1 day ago

🧩😏 Riddle me this, Neighbours…

The Riddler from The Neighbourly Riddler

I am an odd number. Take away a letter and I become even. What number am I?

Do you think you know the answer?

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