Proposed average rate increase: 19.7%
Overall we are proposing a 19.7% average increase to rates. The greatest increase within this is the targeted rates for three waters, and metered water.
Only households that are connected to Council’s three waters systems pay these rates. This will have the biggest impact on residential and commercial ratepayers. Altogether these rates make up 34.5% of the funding that Council will collect through rates.
Indicative rates for each township and differential type are outlined in the Draft Annual Plan and Consultation Document.
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The greatest driver of our budgets are the operational costs for three waters (Drinking Water, Stormwater and Wastewater). Three things are causing our costs to increase:
Other changes in our budget include:
Read more about these drivers in the Consultation Document.
How 3 waters is driving the rate increase
Under the Government’s Local Water Done Well policy, Councils now retain ownership and control of their drinking water, stormwater and wastewater (3 Waters) assets. This means the Council must continue to maintain and replace all of the water pipes, treatment plants, stormwater drains and all the other equipment that goes into providing 3 Waters and meeting the compliance requirements of the Water Regulator.
Council regularly invests in replacing these components and has also invested in new plants and equipment across all 3 Waters activities. This is funded through depreciation, ensuring that Council has funds to replace these assets at the end of their useful life. The Council has implemented a programme to improve its information about the age and maintenance of the assets; having accurate information about the assets means that they can be valued appropriately. Newer assets have a higher value, which has a flow-on effect on the amount of depreciation we need to collect. Higher value assets and increased costs of maintenance and replacement of parts increase the amount of depreciation that the Council must collect from ratepayers through rates.
Of the $3.8 million in additional rates that the Council proposes to collect in the draft Annual Plan, $3.1 million is for 3 Waters depreciation. This figure reflects last year’s decision not to fund depreciation on these assets, which provided relief for ratepayers at the time.
The cost increase in these activities is also influenced by our statutory requirements. Since 2022, the amount of testing and monitoring required for drinking water networks under the Drinking Water Quality Assurance Rules (DWQAR) has increased, with compliance regulations around wastewater and stormwater yet to be implemented. Not only are more samples required from a wider distribution of the network, but what is being sampled has increased, for example, metals and by-products of the treatment process. As this table shows, the Council must now take almost twice as many samples of the drinking water system, which comes at an increased operational cost of over 400% compared to pre-DWQAR.
|
Sample Location |
Samples Required pre DWQAR (Number) |
Samples Required to Comply with DWQAR (Number) |
|
Source Water |
0 |
613 |
|
Treatment Plant |
2392 |
400 |
|
Distribution Zone |
1140 |
6782 |
|
TOTAL |
3532 (864 of these are now required to be continuously monitored) |
7795 |
To continue to meet our obligations, both to the government and the local community, we must fund these activities responsibly.
What changes are we proposing?
| Council Headquarters |
Due to the age of the current Council headquarters, there are some structural and health and safety issues that need to be addressed. Council has considered three reasonable options for the future location of the headquarters. Two options are to refurbish the current headquarters or the Pakiwaitara building, and the third option is to build a new site at the airport. |
Preferred option: Councils preferred option is to refurbish the current location, which is the mid-range cost and allows for moving the library to the ground floor of the building. |
| Land Transport levels of service |
Council has considered five options for the level of service offered for road maintenance. These range from reducing the level of service but keeping the costs low, to improving the level of service at a higher cost. |
Preferred option: Do the minimum, which focus maintenance on the most widely used parts of the network. Some bridges at the end of life might not be replaced and there may be less maintenance on minor roads. |
| Ross Swimming Pool upgrade |
In its current state, the steel structure suffers from significant corrosion as a result of poor detailing and lack of maintenance. We are asking the Ross community if they are prepared to pay for repairs through their community rate to ensure the longevity of the structure. |
Preferred option: Repair the pool structure, which is the long-term solution and ensures the pool remains open. |
| Franz Josef/Waiau & Fox Glacier - Glacier Country Community Development Funding |
Council is proposing to withdraw the $65,000 of funding to Glacier Country Community Development to reduce the rate burden on ratepayers in the Franz Josef and Fox Glacier rating districts. We are asking the Franz Josef and Fox Glacier communities if they want to continue to pay for funding Community Development in Glacier Country. |
Preferred option: Council ceases to rate for Glacier Country Promotions. The community can then decide if they want to continue to receive the assistance of a Community Development Officer and how to fund that role. |
| Hokitika - Hokitika Area Promotions Rate |
Commercial use properties in the Hokitika Community Rating Zone contribute towards the Destination Hokitika Grant through the Hokitika Area Promotions Rate. We are asking property owners who pay this rate if they want to continue to fund the Hokitika Area Promotions Rate. |
Preferred option: Council ceases to collect the Hokitika Area Promotions Rate. Destination Hokitika would decide how to administer collection of revenue from its members and other commercial businesses. |
Read more about our proposed changes in the Consultation Document.
To find out about what the indicative rates are likely to be if Council adopts all of the proposals and the preferred options outlined in this document see pp 30- 31 of the Draft Annual Plan 2024/2025 Consultation Document or pp 80 - 81 of the Draft Annual Plan 2024/2025.
Information on your property’s proposed rates for 2024/2025 will be available in the Council’s Rating Information Database (RID) in the month of May 2024.
The proposed fees and charges are available here.
Submissions open: 9am, Tuesday 2 April 2024
Submissions close: 12pm, Friday 3 May 2024
No late submissions will be accepted.
Hearing, Deliberation and Decision: 9am, Wednesday 15 May 2024
Please note: submissions will be publicly available on the council’s website, through inclusion in council agendas, and/or retrievable by request under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987. Contact details will redacted under the Privacy Act 2020.