Council adopts Annual Plan

The Waikato District Council yesterday adopted its Annual Plan 2017/18 that will see targeted wastewater rates rise to allow for preparation of long term plans to protect waterways and environmentally sensitive areas from overflows.

The adoption of the Plan comes after a month-long consultation on wastewater services options that attracted 465 submissions and presentations on 14 of those submissions at a hearing on 31 May.

Overall feedback was in favour of the option adopted in the Plan. Of the written submissions received by the Council, 41% were in favour of the option incorporated in the Annual Plan, 42% were in favour of a cheaper option to mitigate key risks of wastewater overflows, and 11% were in favour of a more expensive option to prepare long term plans for a district-wide ‘continuous improvement programme’. Feedback received through polling at drop-in sessions and social media showed a clear majority in favour of the option adopted.

As the Council will also move from five different wastewater rates throughout the district to a single district-wide rate for the first time, this means that from 1 July targeted wastewater rates will rise by between $78 and $230, depending on where the ratepayer lives, to a single district-wide rate of $896.62.

Ratepayers can check the impact on their individual rates with an online rates calculator on the Council’s website at www.waikatodistrict.govt.nz/rid.

Other changes adopted as part of the Annual Plan include a change in Fees and Charges in respect of swimming pool inspections, and road signs for new subdivisions, and the introduction of interim charges for stormwater, wastewater, and refuse and recycling services for new houses to cover the period prior to the introduction of rates at the beginning of each new financial year.

More information is available at www.waikatodistrict.govt.nz/annualplan .

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