Fees and Charges Proposal for 2022/23

Te Tūtohunga Utu 2022/23

Thank you for your interest, consultation on the Fees and Charges Proposal for 2022/2023 has now closed. Feedback gained helped Council's elected members to consider options before adopting the final 2022/23 Fees and Charges Schedule.

Council's elected members have adopted the final 2022/23 Fees and Charges Schedule. Visit our Fees and Charges page for the latest information.

What are fees and charges?
He aha ngā utu?

User fees and charges are one of the ways that Council can recover some of the costs of delivering an activity or service directly from those who use, and therefore benefit, from the activity or service.
Cost recovery through fees and charges are guided by legislation and can cover a wide range of Council activities and services, from access to refuse transfer stations, venue hire, and the issuing of building consents and more.

Current fees and charges are set out in the Fees and Charges Schedule - (PDF, 1.5 MB)

Why review fees and charges?
He aha mātau e arotake ai i ngā utu?

Fees and charges generally do not cover the full cost of delivering an activity or service. This means for most activities there is a user pays portion and a portion funded by rates. The Council's Revenue and Financing Policy - (PDF, 525 KB) outlines for each relevant activity or service, the preferred proportion that is paid for by the user and the proportion that is subsidised through rates.

The Council reviews fees and charges annually to ensure they reflect (proportionately) the cost of delivering the activity or service, particularly when costs are increasing. Regular reviews enable us to consider the impact of any cost increases on Council budgets, and as a consequence, consider the implications for fees and charges.

Why are we proposing changes to fees and charges?
He aha mātau e tūtohu ai he panonitanga i ngā utu?

The current Long Term Plan (LTP) 2021-2031 was approved on 14 July 2021.

The Long Term Plan outlined a 'rates smoothing' model for three years, with rates increases capped at 6.93% per year. However, the costs of COVID-19, rising interest rates and inflation and necessary projects and are having an impact on the Council’s budget.

While there are no significant changes proposed to the Long Term Plan priorities and deliverables, the draft Annual Plan budget seeks to address emerging financial pressures (that all councils are facing) through a combination of internal adjustments over the 2022/23 year to avoid an additional rates increase.

The financial impact of COVID-19, rising interest rates and inflation and unforeseen new projects that are necessary equates to a 2.2% increase in the budget for the 2022/23 financial year over and above the current 6.93% increase approved in the LTP 2021-2031.

Council wants to maintain its commitment to a capped rates increase of 6.93% per year for three years and fund the budget increase for 2022-2023 through a combination of adjustments which includes increases to some user pays fees and charges.

So, Council is proposing to increase some fees and charges to offset increasing costs.

If adopted, proposed changes to the fees and charges would start from Friday, 1 July 2022.

What are the options to increase fees and charges?
He aha ngā kōwhiringa ki te whakapiki ake i ngā utu?

Two approaches to increasing fees and charges are presented as follows:

• Option 1: Increase fees and charges for specific activities - building consents, Land Information Memorandums (LIMs) and for entry into the Whakatāne transfer station (preferred option).
• Option 2: Increase fees and charges by a smaller amount across a broader range of activities and services.

Option 1 - Increasing fees and charges for specific activities (preferred option)
E whakapiki ake ana i ngā utu mō ētahi mahi

The Revenue and Financing Policy outlines for each relevant activity, the preferred proportion that is paid for by the user and the proportion that is subsidised by other funding sources (e.g. rates).
Council sets a band for the user pays a proportion of the total cost of an activity. For example, Building consents have a user-pays band from 40% to 60% of the total cost. This means the user pays between 40% and 60% of the cost of the activity, with the remainder funded by rates.

Council is proposing to adjust those fees and charges which are at the bottom of their band range, or in some cases, below the band range. This option improves cost recovery for these activities, bringing the cost that is recovered by the user more into line with the benefit the user receives and the intent of the Revenue and Finance Policy.

Read more about Option 1 - Increasing fees and charges for specific activities (preferred option)

Current and proposed fees and charges for specific activities

Description of proposed changes	Long Term Plan 2021/2031	Proposed Annual Plan 2022/2023
Building consent application fees and charges	Charge-out rates for Council Building officer is between $85to $200 per hour Additional inspections: $160 Certificate: $150 Land Information Memorandum a) Residential Property/Rural Property used predominantly for farming or rural purposes: $225 b) Business/Rural Property used for a commercial or industrial use: $335 Registration/revocation of registration of section 36 or 37 Building Act 1991 or section 72 or 75 Building Act 2004 notification: $235	Charge-out rates for Council Building officer is between $ 100 to $250 per hour Additional inspections: $175 Certificate: $160 Land Information Memorandum a) Residential Property/Rural Property used predominantly for farming or rural purposes: $255 b) Business/Rural Property used for a commercial or industrial use: $365 Registration/revocation of registration of section 36 or 37 Building Act 1991 or section 72 or 75 Building Act 2004 notification: $255
Whakatāne transfer station	Individual tyres: a) Farm bike, motorcycle Tyres on Rim: $7.00 each Tyres only: $5.00 each b) Passenger car and 4X4 Tyres on Rim: $13.00 each Tyres only: $11.00 each c) Truck tyres Tyres on Rim: $36.00 each Tyres only: $31.00 each d) Agricultural Tyres on Rim: $86.00 each Tyres only: $76.00 each Refuse bag (60 litre bag max) $4.00 Car or station wagon $39.00 Ute, Van, Single axle trailer (up to 200Kg) $56.00 All other loads over weighbridge $282.00 per tonne	Individual tyres: a) Farm bike, motorcycle Tyres on Rim: $9.00 each Tyres only: $6.00 each b) Passenger car and 4X4 Tyres on Rim: $15.00 each Tyres only: $12.00 each c) Truck tyres Tyres on Rim: $38.00 each Tyres only: $32.00 each d) Agricultural Tyres on Rim: $88.00 each Tyres only: $77.00 each Refuse bag (60 litre bag max) $5.00 Car or station wagon $40.00 Ute, Van, Single axle trailer (up to 200Kg) $57.00 All other loads over weighbridge $296.00 per tonne

Advantages - Ngā huanga

Option 1 improves cost recovery for these targeted activities. Moving fees and charges up the charging band for these services brings the cost that is recovered by the user more into line with the significant benefit the user receives, in keeping with the Revenue and Financing Policy.

This option avoids placing financial stress on wider parts of the community as the country continues to manage the impact and uncertainty of COVID-19.

Lastly, this option leaves scope for increases and inflationary adjustments in the years ahead.

Disadvantages - Ngā taumahatanga

Targeted increases across a very small number of activities will affect a lower number of people in the community, but the financial impact will be greater.

Option 2 - Increasing fees and charges by a smaller amount across a broader range of activities and services
E whakapiki ana i ngā utu mō ētahi mahi me ētahi ratonga whānui

A second option proposed is to spread the increase across a broader range of fees and charges (rather than just targeting specific service users). This would see these fees increase anywhere from 5-8% regardless of where the fee and charge sits within its current band.

The broader range of fees that Council could immediately increase are ones that are not governed by other legislation and do not require a Special Consultative Process under Section (83) of the Local Government Act.

Read more about Option 2 - Increasing fees and charges by a smaller amount across a broader range of activities and services

Proposed range for fees and charges increases

Sections	Fee and charges
Infrastructure department	Water supply - service connection, extension and disconnection charges Sewerage schemes - sewer connection Stormwater schemes Tradewaste Whakatāne transfer station Additional kerbside services and bins Roading Port
Planning, regulatory and corporate services department	Resource management (subject to the resource management act 1991) Building (subject to the building act 2004) Animal control General licence, registration, verification and audit fees Gambling venue consent fee General licence and permit fees Sale and supply of alcohol licences Noise control Access to site file records/property records GIS (geographic information systems) Distance-based numbering (rapid numbers)
Community services department -	Swimming pools Whakatāne and district libraries Te Kōputu a te Whanga a Toi (Whakatāne library and exhibition centre) Te Whare Taonga ō Taketake (Whakatāne museum and research centre) Sportsground rental Parks and reserves Whakatāne war memorial complex hire Public hall hire (Edgecumbe war memorial hall and Ōhope hall) Rural hall hire (Awakeri, Manawahe, Otakiri, Tāneatua, Te Teko, Waimana-Nukuhou, Whakatāne youth centre and Murupara sports pavilion) Cemeteries Crematorium Property documentation charges
Strategy and economic development department	Whakatāne airport i-SITE
General	Printing and photocopying charges Access to official information Miscellaneous fees Staff time

Advantages - Ngā huanga

Option 2 spreads the cost recovery over a broader range of service and facility users.

Disadvantages - Ngā taumahatanga

An increase across a lot of activities may move some fees and charges outside of the Revenue and Financing Policy ranges. This is low risk and can be avoided with regular monitoring against the policy.

The increases across a broader range of fees and charges will affect more people in the community, however it will do so at a lower level than option 1. There is more chance of vulnerable communities and families being exposed to these increases.

 Have your say - Kōrero mai

The consultation period for Fees and Charges began on Friday, 18 March 2022 and closed at 5 pm Friday 15 April 2022.