Fees and charges 2025

The Annual Plan 2025/26 is built on what Council projected for year two of its 2024/34 Long term Plan. Starting the process with the budgets and programmes from the LTP, Councillors had a challenging job ahead in working through those budgets balancing good asset management and future infrastructure needs along with affordability for ratepayers.

Council has resolved to consult on the proposed changes to fees and charges.

SUPPLY OF DRINKING WATER

Councillors are looking at making some changes to how the revenue is collected for the supply of drinking water.

Currently the cost of supplying drinking water is averaged out over all the connections to the supply. Each year every connection has an allocated amount of water (700m³) and a charge of $1.00 for every cubic metre over that set allocation. (One cubic metre is the equivalent of 1,000 litres.)

While this seems to be a fair way of collecting revenue for the infrastructure and treatment of the water supply, the data is showing that only a small number of those connections are using high or very high amounts of water, and with a change in the allocation there is a possibility to reduce the cost over all and potentially save water.

Most connections use around 250m³ per year, the high users (365m³-700m³) the very high users (over 700m³).

With the current setting only the very high users are paying for the extra water use whereas the high users are not paying for their use.

Through the fees and charges consultation Council has proposed a change to the annual allocated amount of water per connection along with a change to the cost per cubic metre over that allocation.

Councillors would like your feedback on this along with any feedback on the other proposed changes to fees and charges

Due to proposing a change to how the water supply is funded (the split between rates and fees and charges) Council needs to make a small change to the wording of its Revenue and Financing Policy, those changes are highlighted in the consultation document.

Public Toilets

A charge to use the Pukaki and Hamilton Drive toilets, Council is adding a charge per use of these facilities to help cover the ongoing costs of maintenance and cleaning.

Council is also proposing a reallocation of how rates are collected to fund toilets. They will be partly funded by the Tourism and Economic Development Rates (TED). This will not affect the overall rates increases. It is a reallocation of the costs towards the ratepayers who pay the TED rates.

Timeline