Waitomo District Council has confirmed its fees and charges for 2025/26, which come into effect today (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, landfill charges and the cost of building consents.

During the public consultation, which ran alongside consultation on Annual Plan 2025-2026, Council received five submissions on the fees and charges proposal.

Chief Executive Ben Smit says Council provides a wide range of services and functions to the community which have a cost associated with them and are not completely funded through rates.

“Fees and charges are applied to fund part of the operating costs of activities where the people who benefit can be directly identified and charged,” he says.

“Some people are often confused about the difference between paying for a service through rates and being charged a fee to use a service or facility. Fees are separate to any rates and 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.”

Due to the impact of rising costs Council has increased most fees and charges by 3% to ensures costs are recovered so that Council services are not subsidised further by rates.

The most significant changes are:

Changes to water, wastewater and stormwater connection fees

For new water, wastewater and stormwater connections it is becoming more difficult to recover costs through a set fee so in some cases ratepayers end up making up the difference. Where appropriate, we will charge these fees at actual cost.

It will also be a requirement to use a Council approved contractor and they, in most cases, provide a quote for the connection. Council would need to review and approve the quote for compliance with regulatory standards. The homeowner or developer can accept the quote and proceed with the work paying the contractor directly.

Council would need to inspect the connection once completed so there would still be an administration and inspection fee to pay to Council.

Landfill and rubbish bags

There is an increase in landfill charges and the cost of the official WDC rubbish bags due to increasing operating costs and the government’s increase in the Emissions Trading Scheme charges and the waste levy. These costs are incurred for every tonne of waste going to landfill. The tonnage charges have increased by $15, and the official WDC rubbish bags are now $5.30 each.

Elderly housing

Elderly housing weekly rent has increased by $40 per week as approved in the LTP 2024-2034. The new prices are $190 for a small single, $200 for a large single, and $180 for a bed-sit.

Alcohol Licensing

On 30 June 2025, Council adopted the Alcohol Fees Bylaw 2025 that allows Alcohol Licensing fees to be set by Council. This will not impact the Manager’s Certificate fees. The Alcohol Fees Bylaw 2025 can be found on Council’s website.

Dog Registration Fees

The dog registration fees were adopted by Council on 25 March 2025, and apply from 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026.

A full list of all fees and charges can be found here