Price increases for council services
New fees and charges are now in place for many Queenstown Lakes District Council.
The changes cover sport and recreation, community facilities / parks and reserves, libraries, planning and development, parking, mooring and jetty fees, environmental health services, and Wānaka airport landing fees.
Councillors voted to adopt them at a meeting on 27 June, following community consultation. The full schedule of new fees and charges took effect from 1 July and can be found here.
“It’s important fees and charges are kept up to date and reflect the costs of delivering activities and services on behalf of the community,” QLDC chief executive Mike Theelen says
“In most cases, what people pay is a contribution towards the whole cost rather than the full amount. A good example is swim prices which, like many other Council charges, are roughly 70% ‘user pays’ and 30% subsidised from rates.
“An important factor behind the changes is recent higher inflation that has seen people in our district and around the country paying more for a range of things from groceries to power. Council is not immune from this. The process has been considered carefully by elected members and Council officers with these pressures in mind.”
Theelen says the Local Government Act also requires all councils to review fees and charges annually to ensure any additional processes and new costs are fully covered, in line with their revenue and financing policies.
“As outlined in the draft Long Term Plan 2024-2034 that’s currently open for community consultation, fees and charges make up approximately 15.5% of Council’s sources of funding over the next ten years," he says.
"Without these increases, an increase in rates equivalent to $1.15M – or nearly one percentage point – would have been required, shifting more of the cost onto all ratepayers and away from those who directly benefit from using these services."
Consultation ran from 5 April - 5 May during which Council received 50 submissions. A hearing panel of Councillors Lisa Guy, Gavin Bartlett and Niki Gladding also agreed to include ten late submissions, with all 60 considered when the panel met on 27 May before the final report was presented at the 27 June Full Council meeting.
A proposed fee increase for jetties and moorings received the most feedback during community consultation. As part of adopting the new fees, Councillors also approved a formal requirement for biennial inspections to be carried out on all jetties and moorings across the district.
