Christchurch City Council approves last minute changes to its 2016-17 annual budget.

The Christchurch City Council will spend $1 million supporting Cantabrians with mental health issues after approving last-minute changes to its annual budget.

Children from low income families will get a 25 per cent discount at all council-owned swimming pools and $400,000 will be spent establishing a City Foundation to promote philanthropic and investment opportunities for community projects.

The council also put $500,000 aside to convert the Mona Vale gatehouse and a building at Halswell Quarry Park into cafes, subject to staff advice.

An additional $1.7m was found to fix footpaths and $428,000 would be spent finishing the Mt Pleasant War Memorial Community Centre. Councillors also decided to contribute $20,000 toward a $400,000 pedestrian bridge and wharf on the lower Heathcote River – an idea mooted by Tannery developer Alasdair Cassels.

The last-minute changes to the 2016-17 annual plan were unanimously approved by the council on Tuesday following community consultation.

The council was now expected to approve the annual plan, with a 4.9 per cent rate increase, on Thursday, once auditors had a chance to look over the changes.

The rate increase was slightly lower than the 5 per cent increase proposed in the draft plan. It would take the average weekly rates bill in the city to about $44 in the 2016-17 year, up from $42.

Dalziel said the changes picked up on what was important about living in Christchurch and the Banks Peninsula.

"I think what the amendments have done [on Tuesday] is capture the essence of what local government is all about."

She defended the council's decision to spend money on mental health, after the council came under fire for funding something that was not core business.

The opportunity to partner with the Government to establish a fund to support community-led psychosocial wellbeing and resilience was a "fantastic opportunity", she said.

"Why wouldn't we want to work with central government to achieve better outcomes for our city?

"We are still a city that has requirements for psychosocial wellbeing."

Cr Yani Johanson said the council already spent money on mental health through its community grants and he worried about the precedent the move would set.

Dalziel said the money would replace the $1m the previous council took from the Christchurch Earthquake Mayoral Relief Fund to help fund the earthquake memorial.

She criticised the former council's decision, saying she could not understand it.

"It doesn't make sense to me."

People from all over the world donated to the fund after the earthquakes to help rebuild the social wellbeing of the community, not to fund a memorial, she said.

Dalziel said she started working last year to get the money reinstated to the fund, but it had already been transferred.

The council was now proposing to take the $1m from the participatory democracy budget.

In other late inclusions into the annual plan, the council would spend $250,000 to enable Akaroa Museum to complete the fit out of its exhibition spaces. It would also put another $40,000 into the council's learn to swim programme and asked staff to bring forward options on improving the intersection of Cashmere, Hoon Hay and Worsleys roads.