Waitomo District Council has confirmed its fees and charges for 2021-2022, which came into effect on 1 July.

Each year Council reviews, consults and updates its fees and charges to reflect the cost of providing services to the community. These can range from dog registration fees, library charges and landfill charges to the cost of building consents.

During the public consultation, which ran alongside consultation on the draft 10 Year Plan, Council didn’t receive any submissions on the fees and charges proposal.

WDC General Manager Business Support Alister Duncan says user fees and charges are reviewed annually with the aim of providing a balance between user pays and rates.

“Council provides a wide range of services and functions to the community which have a cost associated with them. Fees and charges are applied to fund the operating costs of activities where the people who benefit can be directly identified and charged,” he says.

“The aim is to shift a proportion of the cost to the people who get the most use out of the services, rather than the general ratepayer.”

The majority of the fees and charges for 2021-22 remain unchanged and in some cases, fees have been reduced.

Changes to licencing registration fees for offensive trades, sale yard, hairdressers, mortuary and camping grounds have reduced significantly from $450 to $240.

However, the registration fees for a funeral director has increased from $40 to $240 to bring this in line with the other licence registration fees.

Changes to library fees include removal of the charge for overdue large print titles. The rental fee for classic DVDs has also reduced from $3 to $1 for a weekly hire.

Fees to roading assets have increased to reflect actual costs incurred by Council. These include entrance way inspection, road encroachment, new and replacement rapid numbers, and no spray zone application. New fees have also been introduced, including a license fee to occupy a road reserve, and an application fee to process the license to occupy a road reserve.

A new fee will also apply for new sewerage connections and water connections to recover costs incurred by Council. This is also in line with other councils.

A small fee increase has been applied to dog control fees. The fee for urban dogs that comply with the provisions of the Dog Control Act 1996 has increased from $115 to $118, while the fee for rural dogs has increased to $50 per dog. The consent to keep more than two dogs in an urban area is $40.

Council has also introduced a new minimum cost for general refuse for the landfill of $5 (under 10kg).  General waste that is heavier than 10kg will be charged at $0.26 per kg after the first 10kg.

The cost of purchasing a WDC rubbish bag will now be $3.80, however, two items have decreased in price. The cost of the green recycle bin will drop from $24.50 to $15.00 and disposing of a television set will drop from $31.00 to $21.00.

All increased charges address Central Government’s increase in the Emissions Trading Scheme charges and waste levy imposed on local councils.

A full list of fees and charges can be found here