Generally, if you use a Council service, you pay towards the cost of it. We tend to work on the premise that whoever gets the most benefit out of the service should pay more towards it and we feel that user fees associated with some of our services aren't quite right.

We are proposing making changes to the following services in terms of how much you will pay to use them.

The options we're proposing

CBD Redevelopment

This activity repays and services the debt required to develop and beautify Feilding's town centre. The total rates required is around $197,000 per annum. Currently 85% of this cost is spread over 209 CBD ratepayers, placing a considerable burden on them. We are proposing two options.

Status quo - keep things as they currently are, with CBD businesses covering 85% of the cost of the CBD Redevelopment and the remaining 15% covered by general rates.

Council's preferred option

As the general community benefits from a vibrant, safe and attractive town centre, we propose changing this to be fully funded (100%) through general rates, spreading the cost across all ratepayers. This would mean about a $0.26 per week increase in rates for Feilding residents, a $0.13 increase for rural residents and a decrease of $10.90 per week for CBD businesses.*

Animal Control

Our dog registration fees are among the cheapest in our region. The general community benefits from the safety that Animal Control provides - taking menacing dogs off our streets and removing wandering stock from our roads. However we feel that too much of the cost burden falls on general ratepayers, and more responsibility should be placed on dog owners for the costs of dog control. We are proposing two options:

Status quo - Keep things as they are with dog owners paying 60% of the cost of Animal Control and the remaining 40% from general rates.

Council's preferred option

This would see a reduction of $0.25 per week for ratepayers* and dog registration fees rise from $116 to $120 at the discounted rate, and $174 to $180 if paid after 1st August.

Building Control

This activity covers things such as building consents, Codes of Compliance, and the associated building inspections. There is a benefit to the general community through ensuring our district has safe buildings and they meet the relevant building standards, and through ensuring the costs of building control activities are reasonable for individual property owners so as not to discourage development. However we feel that the current funding mix does not recognise the individual benefits property owners receive from Building Control services enough. We are proposing two options:

Status quo - keep things as they currently are, with users of the service covering 60% of the costs and the remaining 40% being covered by general rates.

Council's preferred option

People using the building services would see an increase of around 20% in the cost, but Feilding residents would pay about $0.38 less per week, and rural residents about $0.13 less per week.*

Consent Planning

This is the resource consent guidance and consenting we do to protect our natural environment. There is a benefit to the general community from the economic activity that flows from having sufficient land with suitable zoning, infrastructure and services. Currently our consenting fees are low compared to other local authorities. We feel that the current funding mix does not recognise the individual benefits landowners receive from consent planning services. We are proposing two options:

Status quo - keep things as they currently are, with 40% of the cost of consent planning services being covered by general rates.

Council's preferred option

This would see an average cost increase of around 20% across our consents and planning service, but Feilding and rural residents would pay about $0.13 less per week.*

Solid Waste

This includes the collection and disposal of household rubbish, the sale of blue rubbish bags and the transfer stations. We feel more of the cost of providing this service should be paid for by individuals rather than from rates. We are proposing two options:

Status quo - collection and disposal costs are covered by 35-45% general rates and 55-65% user fees.

This equates to:

  • General rate - $83 per annum*
  • Blue bags - $2.50 per bag
  • Gate fee for medium load - $102
  • Gate fee for trucks and loads over 500kg (per tonne) - $282.20

Council's preferred option

This option would save ratepayers around $0.27 per week and equates to:

  • Blue bags - $2.90 per bag (16% increase)
  • Gate fee for medium load - $132 (29% increase)
  • Gate fee for trucks and loads over 500kg (per tonne) - $366 (30% increase)

Which option do you prefer?

Let us know by completing our submission form