Feedback on proposed changes to fees and charges
What are they?
Fees and charges are direct costs that people pay to use Council-owned property, facilities or services. The fee you pay to swim at the AC Baths or Turtle Pools, or for a building consent are a few examples of Council fees and charges.
What's changed?
Each year, we review our current fees and charges to ensure actual and reasonable costs are recovered. 2023-24 has brought with it a variety of difficult challenges for Council. We are proposing the following changes to our fees and charges to:
- Balance what users pay and what is paid for in general rates.
- Cover inflated costs incurred by suppliers or those set by levies.
Summary of changes open for submission
Building Consent Authority Administrative Fee: Council uses an electronic system for lodging building consents. The fee increase proposed represents an increase by our supplier and will cover the actual costs incurred.
Solid Waste: The majority of fees associated with solid waste are proposed to increase for both the Broadlands Road Landfill and transfer stations around the District. These are driven by Central Government levies and contractor costs. One decrease is proposed to ‘Large Loads’.
Engineering Services: The proposed increases better reflect the skillsets and experience levels of staff working in this area.
Water Supply: There are three changes proposed for water supply. The first relates to a discrepancy with the new pipe laying distance requirements, the second is a reduction to better reflect the time taken to complete a final read of a meter and the associated administration time, and the third relates to hydraulic modelling which has now finished and any future requirements will be ‘at cost’.
AC Baths: Council is proposing to decrease the entry fee for the private thermal pools. Aqua fitness classes for both casual and memberships are proposed to increase.
Fitness Studio: The Fitness Studio’s six and 12 month memberships will slightly decrease to align with the membership formula. For the same reason, the Joint Fitness Studio and Pools memberships will also decrease.
Climbing Wall: The child and student memberships are proposed to increase slightly to better cover actual costs. We have also developed two additional options for child and youth climbing clubs, which include either a one day or two-day training session with other access days provided for during the week. These options reflect current demand.
Libraries: Council is proposing to no longer change for overdue items (other items - fines). This aligns with both national and international trends to remove fines, as the time and cost to administer fines outweighs what is recovered.
Superloo: Covid-19 altered the operation of the Superloo and subsequently the business model was reviewed. The review resulted in no charge for toilets and lockers, while a time limit was put on showers and the price increased. The price increase includes towel hire (which was separate) and selected toiletries.
Overweight Vehicle Permits: Council issues permits for overweight vehicles on our roading network which allows Council to check that larger than standard loads do not damage our infrastructure (mainly bridges and large culverts) and applies restriction to the travel of these loads to ensure no damage is done. These fees are set by legislation.
A detailed schedule of proposed changes to fees and charges is available below.
