Latest news with #TasmanDistrictCouncil
Scoop
6 days ago
- Business
- Scoop
Tasman Debates Fairness Of Dog And Waste Fees
Dog fees in Tasman are going up after almost two thirds of submitters opposed the increases, and ratepayers will pick up the bill for other people's waste disposal. Those are just two of many changes to the district council's fees and charges for next financial year, most of which are increasing by 10%. But on Tuesday, the Tasman District Council grappled with the principles of fairness when trying to determine how dog and waste disposal fees were split. Elected members confirmed that its annual dog registration fees would jump by $25, bringing urban dogs up to $90 and rural dogs to $70 – increases of 38 and 56% respectively. A new working dog fee of $50 will also be introduced. The council went ahead with the hikes despite 39 of 64 submitters on the entire suite of fee changes specifically opposing the increases. Increasing the fee would ensure that the cost of delivering dog services – including enforcement, responding to complaints, managing public safety, operating the animal shelter, rehoming dogs, and educating the public – met the council's budget. The closed dog services account has previously run at a deficit, which then impacts either council debt or rates. Increasing the dog fees would also ensure the council continues its current approach that dog owners pay 95% of the costs of local dog services, in keeping with user pays principles. But the scale of the increases concerned some elected members. Mayor Tim King's proposal to stage the increase over two years lapsed due to a lack of support, as did councillor Glen Daikee's suggestion that SuperGold cardholders get reduced fees for urban dogs. 'Targeted relief for these residents would be worth it. 60% of people on a Super card over 65 are living on a fixed income essentially, and they don't have the ability to absorb these things as easily as others,' Daikee said. His proposal would have had to be processed as a rebate, which would come with additional administrative costs. However, members were interested in transitioning to a different dog fee framework in the future with 'much higher' base fees, but with rebates offered for responsible dog owners. 'At the moment there really isn't a significant incentive or disincentive between a good dog owner and a bad dog owner,' King said. Resource recovery centres across the district are also receiving less waste, which might be an otherwise positive result for the council if it didn't complicate budget-setting. Waste volumes have fallen by 28%, or 7500 tonnes, across Tasman over the last two years, with the Richmond centre bearing the brunt of the drop at 6000 tonnes. The fall is attributed to a combination of a slower economy, waste minimisation initiatives, diversion to York Valley Landfill in Nelson, and increased illegal dumping. Similar to dogs, the council has been seeking to recover most of its waste processing costs through those who use the service and drop off waste. But many of the costs of running the resource recovery centres are static and don't decrease as the amount of waste decreases, meaning that dumping costs need to go up as waste shrinks. The council's initial proposal was to increase the weight-based charge for mixed refuse by 28%, from $360.60 to $425.50 per tonne, to ensure that resource recovery was fully funded. However, feedback from industry has indicated that jumps of that scale would increase the amount of waste being sent straight to the York Valley Landfill, reducing the council's revenue. Elected members agreed to increase the rate by a smaller 15%, to about $414.70 per tonne, to try and reduce the amount of waste diversion. That choice still leaves a deficit for next financial year and will mean another 0.215% added onto rates – already proposed to go up 8.8% – to cover the shortfall. Council staff suggested a lesser increase might reduce illegal dumping, thus providing a community-wide benefit, but some councillors were wary of using rates to subsidise waste disposal. 'It's completely inconsistent with people taking personal responsibility … it sends all the wrong messages,' said Christeen Mackenzie. The waste disposal charges will be reviewed in November 2025. The new fees will be implemented on 1 July.
Scoop
28-05-2025
- General
- Scoop
Land And Freshwater Plan Change Refocused
Press Release – Tasman District Council A separate plan change PC87 will address priority issues for land activities in Tasman, targeting recontouring and contaminated soil management. Ongoing delays and uncertainty with national freshwater regulation have been challenging for the Council and a decision was made on 9 May to pause the Land and Freshwater Plan Change (PC84) until clear Government direction and new legislation is received. However, Council has obligations under the Water Conservation Order (WCO) for Te Waikoropupū Springs and aquifer, as well as other priority issues to address that cannot wait. As a result, PC84 will be refocused on freshwater protections to support the WCO. This change will put in place policy and rules to manage water and land use activities, and their associated discharges, in the recharge area for the Wharepapa Arthur Marble Aquifer to help protect the flows and water quality at the Springs. It will also create a nutrient management framework for farming and forestry in the recharge area to help achieve nitrate reduction at the Springs. A separate plan change PC87 will address priority issues for land activities in Tasman, targeting recontouring and contaminated soil management. We are working to get both plan changes notified this year before the Local Government elections to avoid further delay. Once the plan changes are notified, community members will have the chance to share their views and participate in the process by making formal submissions. Further information on the WCO and workstreams to support protection of the Springs is available on Council's website, as well as further information on the PC84 and PC87 processes.
Scoop
22-05-2025
- Business
- Scoop
Tapawera Community Hub: Where Will It Go?
Tasman District Council is forging ahead with a $2.7 million plan to build a new community hub for the rural Tapawera community. The hub is envisioned as a place to create better access to health and wellbeing services for residents while providing a place for locals to connect and find information. The council reaffirmed its decision to progress with the new facility earlier this month despite a 'small contingent' of Golden Down residents writing in opposition to the project in January. Dean Walls is one Tapawera resident who wants 'no new hub anywhere' and disputes locally-led surveys that show over 80 per cent support for the facility. He said the rural township and wider district was in economic downturn and so the council should focus on 'needs, not wants' rather than spending large sums for a community hub as rates continue to rise. 'There is no fiscal responsibility for the project at all. Numbers have been picked out of the air and reported as facts.' The community wanted the current hall retained and upgraded, he added. The existing Tapawera Community Centre at 95 Main Road Tapawera is currently earthquake-prone, at 25 per cent of the New Building Standard. A feasibility study for a new hub said the community centre site was the preferred location. The existing centre is owned by the Tapawera and Districts Community Council and would have been transferred to the council to facilitate a new hub. However, the council's due diligence for the location revealed several issues including nearby powerlines that would complicate works, the Kahurangi Waharoa (Gateway) and community gardens currently on the site, and heritage concerns. Subsequently, council staff had recommended that the existing community centre site was taken out of consideration, but councillors disagreed and voted to keep the possibility on the table. Deputy mayor and Lakes-Murchison Ward councillor Stuart Bryant wanted the location to remain an option at the request of local residents. 'Hopefully this finds a way forward that we should continue working on this project for the community.' Steve Udy, chair of the Tapawera and Districts Community Council, said the association was determined to keep the existing community centre, possibly with seismic strengthening. 'There is significant support in the community for retaining the building for its historic character, and so a demolition and new build on the site wouldn't be acceptable to significant proportion of the local community.' He thought it made 'much more sense' to build on one of three reserves sites in the Tapawera Memorial Park currently being consulted on through the Lakes-Murchison Ward's reserve management plan. 'We have a duty to the community to ensure that the funds that have been allocated to it, to the new build, are used as best as possible.' Two of the three locations being consulted on are south of Matai Crescent and are large open sites, but would face greater flooding risk and infrastructural costs. The third site north of Matai Crescent has previously seen some negative feedback from the community due to access and amenity concerns, though it has better utility access and less flood risk which would result in lower construction costs. In addition to their thoughts on the three locations, submitters on the reserve management plan are also being asked if they support a new community hub. The consultation will gauge community feedback which will eventually inform the council's decision, but not before all four locations (including the existing community centre site) are assessed and those findings are shared with the wider community. Design work for the new facility will begin in July. 'What we're trying to do is pursue the best possible outcome for our community long-term,' said Phoebe Quinlivan, communications and hub coordinator at Tapawera Connect. 'This is our one shot to get a community hub for Tapawera.' The hub project has secured $510,000 from the Department of Internal Affairs.
Scoop
08-05-2025
- Business
- Scoop
Tasman District Council Begins Consultation On Annual Plan
The Tasman District Council will commence consultations on its Annual Plan for the 2025/2026 financial year from 12 May to 25 May. The plan proposes a rates revenue increase of 8.8%. Tasman's Long Term Plan (LTP) 2024-2034 established the Council's plans and costs for the next 10 years. For the financial year 2025/2026, we anticipated an overall rates revenue increase of 7% with a net debt of $290m. Since then, the increased costs for 2025/2026 have become apparent, including the Government directed water-related costs as late as last month which have added a further $0.5million to the operating budgets. Other higher than anticipated costs include interest rates, funding future renewals of our assets (because of increased asset valuations), electricity costs and maintenance costs. In October 2024 staff forecasted a deficit at end of the financial year of $6.5m, which indicated that the proposed 7% rates revenue increase forecasted in the Long Term Plan (2024 – 2034) would be difficult to achieve and was more likely to be close to 13.5%. Mayor Tim King stated at the time that this number was not acceptable, for a community that is already experiencing rising cost pressures. Since October last year, the Mayor and councilors have been working with staff to reduce the impact on the rates revenue increase. Although there is no single solution, several initiatives have been implemented, such as reducing staff costs by $1.4 million and making changes to capital budgets and service delivery models. Additionally, we have limited the impact with a proposed 10% increase in fees and charges, as well as selling excess Council property and reducing external consultant costs. Consequently, we have been able to reduce the proposed rates revenue increase to 8.8%. The result of these changes is that the proposed rates revenue increase is 8.8% (excluding growth) for 2025/2026, and net debt will be $299m. The actual increase in rates will be felt differently across the District. Some households and businesses may see an increase nearer 13% and others as low as 1.5%, depending on the services they use and mix of different rates they pay. Consultation on the proposed plan will take place from 12 May until 25 May. Consultation material is available online via Shape Tasman and in hard copy from Council offices and libraries.
Scoop
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
Bypass For Bridge Build
Press Release – Tasman District Council The bridge is required to provide additional channel capacity for Borck Creek to cater for future stormwater February, Tasman District Council Elected Members discussed two options for traffic management during the construction. Lower Queen Street in Richmond will remain open during the major construction project for a new bridge near the intersection of Headingly Lane. The bridge is required to provide additional channel capacity for Borck Creek to cater for future stormwater February, Tasman District Council Elected Members discussed two options for traffic management during the construction. The first option was for the construction of a temporary bypass road around the construction site, while the second option was for a total closure of that section of Lower Queen Street for the full duration of the bridge construction. A Traffic Impact Assessment and an Economic Impact Assessment report were completed to assist with decision making on the 'full closure' or 'bypass' options, which showed unfavourable outcomes of a full closure. The views of residents, businesses and commuters were canvased in a special poll with overwhelming support of the temporary bypass of close to 75% of respondents. Even though a decision to build the temporary bypass has been made, there will still be a need to close the road two or three short times during the construction project. Work on the new bypass road is expected to begin within the next two months, followed by the start of bridge construction which will take up to 14 months.
