District funding of water and sewerage postponed

Thursday, 11 June 2009

Southland District Council has postponed a proposal to fund water and sewerage district-wide, rather than by individual communities, for a year. The proposal put up in the Council's draft 10-year plan meant ratepayers on water and sewerage schemes would pay the same across the district for maintenance and renewal costs.

However, the majority of councillors felt more work was needed on this proposal after listening to submitters over the two days of hearings to the draft LTCCP.

Council spent yesterday discussing the 202 submissions and deliberating on changes to the draft plan.

Cr Diane Ridley said more work is needed on the proposal.

"We need to put these things to the communities."

There is a strong push to user-pays on everything and this is going in the opposite direction.

Mayor Frana Cardno said Council will have to look seriously at the management of water in the future as Central Government will be pushing it.

Councillors also discussed the roading budget and the way it is funded.

Staff also recommended that $200,000 could be removed from sealed and unsealed road maintenance costs for each of the ten years after recent maintenance tenders came in lower than expected.

While Cr Wallace Jack wanted to see further reductions in the roading budget, Council felt that there was a need to have a thorough review of roading levels of service, maintenance and costs over the next year rather than making a knee jerk reaction.

With submissions commenting on issues around maintenance of roads, particularly grading and potholes, councillors commented on the need to focus on the basics.

The roading rate was discussed at length, including the effect of the increase on lifestyle properties and the difference between models.

Cr Brian Dillon said Council and submitters are getting too hung up on individual properties.

"We have to take an overview - look at the big picture.

"I think we are walking down the right track. It's not perfect but nothing is."

No change was made to the model.

Councillors also agreed to fund health regulation as a uniform annual charge per dwelling across the district rather than a rate based on the land value of a property.  The move was in response to calls to increase the proportion of rates collected this way.  This will see around $12.66 added onto rates per dwelling and will be offset by a decrease in the rates collected by on land value.

While there was also some discussion about whether civil defence and rural fire should also be funded by uniform charge, Council left this unchanged in the plan.

Grants to Stadium Southland, the Warm Homes Trust and the Rugby World Cup were agreed on, as was continued funding for a biodiversity position.

Council has retained the proposal for a three-bin recycling service in the LTCCP, but this is subject to tendering, the final costs and a regional agreement.

Council Group Manager Services and Assets Cameron McIntosh said it is likely the proposal will come back to Council in November and at that time, Council will be able to make a decision about whether to proceed and in what format it might be.

Staff will now make the approved changes to the draft long term plan and it will be brought back to an extraordinary Council meeting on June 30 for final adoption.