The amount Tauranga residents pay for their tap water is set to increase in the first rejig of the water rates in the eight years since they were imposed.
Unless there is strong opposition the Tauranga City Council is planning to double the fixed water charge to $52 a year and up the volumetric rate, the amount paid per cubic metre, by 11 cents. The price per tonne will be $1.69.
Barring protests the new charges take effect from July 1.
The increases are the paradoxical price of the water meters' success.
They were installed to save water, and they do that to an extent that in combination with a drop off in new housing, the council's water system is no longer paying for itself.
By the end of this year there will be a $3million deficit, which the increases will have dealt to by 2014/15.
The intention of the water charges is to recover fixed costs – treatment and reticulation – and run at a break-even level, which hasn't happened for the last two and a half years.
In annual plan discussions in November councillors noted that there has been no increase in the fixed charge for water supply since water meters were introduced in 2001.
However, since then the balance between fixed and variable charges has altered considerably.
For example, less water use reduces the amount of income the council receives, but the costs of supplying water do not reduce as a result of this.
The council has agreed to make the following changes to the water supply fees.
The changes are said to ensure a better balance between fixed and volume-based charges and provide certainty of funding for the future.
The annual fixed charge for the majority of domestic users it will increase from $26 to $52 with a sliding scale increase for larger users.
This means that the proportion of total revenue that will come from the fixed charge will increase from 8 per cent to 13 per cent.
The annual variable charge will increase from $1.58 to $1.69 including GST ($1.37 to $1.47 excluding GST).
Since water metres were introduced the estimated peak water demand per person has reduced from 703 litres towards 450 litres.
36 comments
100% increase?
Posted on 28-02-2012 12:45 | By wreck1080
Council is out of control. 7% increase in volume, and 100% increase in fixed. While inflation is at 3%!!! What gives the council the right!! Don't talk to me about not covering costs---my rates have gone up by 25% in just 3 years.
Typical
Posted on 28-02-2012 13:06 | By South
They penalised us for using water, now they are penalising us for not using enough. Which zoo did these monkeys escape from?
If We Need To! Why?
Posted on 28-02-2012 13:10 | By tabatha
We are not using enough water, whose fault is that? The over greedy workers in the council. The CEO needs to prune the Managers, note plural who sit in the office and get little boys to run around. I have been told from a good source at the time of meters introduction there was one manager and a couple of workers in the office, (I am not talking about the ones at the Treatment Stations). I was told there is more than one manager, a manager to manager the mangers to manger the workers. Please some look into where money is being spent on pen pushers and reduce it down and some savings will be made. Timesheets for salaried managers might help. We had a fixed amount at one stage and the boys in the office told councillors we should be metered so the cost of installing meters went against the water budget, the work in piping that is flexible is another cost, but they seem to be variable as some piping sits, and it is not under pressure tests. Please councillors breathe deeply and realise the rate payers have only a certain amount to live on and you plan to take 50% more in water rates. Give up some of time sitting and see how many people are really needed in the offices. Prune time. By the way Hamilton CC does not have meters yet, trying to get in.
Price increase...
Posted on 28-02-2012 13:13 | By SpeakUp
...to serve the apparatchiks and their self-serving regulations.
Heads they win, tails we lose.
Posted on 28-02-2012 13:16 | By bigted
What would they charge us if we used no water?
Facts NOT fiction
Posted on 28-02-2012 13:24 | By CC8
You as a reporter are duty bound to check facts and not just spew out the council spin. Fact the price of water to consumers HAS gone up since meters were introduced. Those of us who argued against metering in the first place were told it is not a revenue gathering exercise,but one to reduce the consumption of water....it seems this has been achieved and now the "advisory staff" at the council want more money to justify their existence!! How about cutting costs somewhat, now that objectives have been realised? Like getting rid of some of the high priced deadwood at the top!!
Unfortunately...
Posted on 28-02-2012 13:43 | By Ted the Mechanic
The main benefit from the reduction in water useage (thanks to meters) is that the demand for new or expanded water supplies (or sources) is pushed out into the future thereby deferring capital expenditure that would otherwise be required to keep up with population growth. I know Western Bay District Council have the same dilemma so may take this cue to do likewise... And of course BOP Regional Council will be taking a much closer look at all water takes, rights and useage in the near future thanks to new tougher legislation from central Government.
whats the increase really for
Posted on 28-02-2012 13:46 | By len barron
is this just a money grab to pay for their over spending. eg baypark etc
PATHETIC
Posted on 28-02-2012 14:11 | By penguin
How can the Council expect to earn (yes, respect is earned, not a God-given "right") respect and cooperation from the ratepayers when all this hollow rhetoric abounds around saving here and reducing there. So most people do make the effort (as seen by the reduced water usage). Then we get our kneecaps ripped off because we succeeded! Have you also been "stung" by dutifully taking greenwaste to the transfer station(rather than dumping it in a hideaway somewhere) only to be hit with high fees for doing so? Why, when the stuff is composted and SOLD ON for profit? I challenge any councillor to start coming clean with tangible, factual, plausible justification as to why we have these anomolies!
WATER METERS FINE AS LONG AS NOT OPERATED BY SHARKS
Posted on 28-02-2012 14:22 | By RORTSCAM
Get a life turkey people, these TCC bozos have put rates up closer to 40% in past 3years and as I recall the cost of installing new water meters (After ripping out many perfectly good ones ) was around $20million. Had they thought ahead every new subdivision of land should have been required to have water meters from 1980s on .The current head honcho Councillors were all there at the time. This is why TCC debt balloons out to $400m. Until residents and ratepayers have the balls to march on City Hall and throw these clowns to the wolves nothing will change. The opportunity was there in 2010 but the gutless wonder voters did nothing. ENJOY
Overit
Posted on 28-02-2012 15:00 | By overit
Well lets all fight it by protesting against the hike of doubling the rate. Instead of us bitching on this site,take it to the Council via letter,email,protests on the street in front of the chambers. I agree with all of your comments. I am going to sell up and move on in the Spring. This Council has its heads in the clouds-where do they think the money is coming from with hikes to electricity,rates, petrol,food,etc. My wages don't move with it all. I am one of those care workers (read the other article on the strike).
You forced meters, so wear the consequences
Posted on 28-02-2012 15:06 | By Gee Really
Water meters were forced onto Tauranga, so Council should wear any adverse consequences. Where are the advisory consultants and their modelling now? Increasing the fixed charge just makes a mockery of having meters in the first place.
kapa
Posted on 28-02-2012 15:32 | By kapa
How much further does this stupid council think we can stretch ur dollar? We will all have to give up eating soon to pay the outgoings they force on us. What with rate hikes power hikes and now water rates, and then they spend our money on things we DON'T WANT. Wages don't go up, just everything else. Get a grip TCC, you must be the worst council er have ever struck in all of the cities here and countries we have lived in.
WATER
Posted on 28-02-2012 15:53 | By Lois
I agree with South, do they think we came down in the last shower???
Rates increases
Posted on 28-02-2012 16:11 | By debsongs
Don't get me started on rates increases, water or land! My land rates have increased $1000 a year since I bought this property 9 years ago. My income has not increased at all! We are struggling to survive but I don't want to lose my home so go without other essentials to pay these bills. My home was the cheapest home on the market when I bought it. For goodness sake, charge the rich ratepayers with expensive homes. Leave the poorer of us alone. We have to feed our kids something.
WAGGER
Posted on 28-02-2012 17:30 | By The author of this comment has been removed.
It's time to WAG Council again. A new file has miraculously appeared on my Computer. Called Water Action Group. Hope Council remembers that name! Maybe it's time for the Super Wags to get back into action again.
Re Think
Posted on 28-02-2012 17:49 | By tabatha
By the letters on this site no one has agreed, I suspect others out there feel the same. They will have to rethink as they stated barring protests the water rate will rise. Seriously TCC must put a stop to all unecessary spending, eg water front. Asthetically nice yes but who pays for it, not the visitors unless the TCC now have a tax on visitors to the area. Perhaps we need passport control etc, oops no that would cost too much. TCC stop, think, and listen. A bit like the old road crossing look right left and right again. The whole council spending is out of control.
Incentives
Posted on 28-02-2012 17:50 | By CNS
No one talks about incentives? To provide a little balance, it would be good if there were incentives to take up alternatives that help reduce water usage - such as heavily subsidised rain water tanks for garden irrigation, or trade-in schemes for washing machines etc..
HIgher and higher water rates.
Posted on 28-02-2012 18:27 | By dgk
Increasing the water rates will, of course, result in even less water used and TCC will put the rate up even higher next year. Their logic is seriously flawed.
Why us?
Posted on 28-02-2012 19:13 | By Openknee8ted
The TCC kills off growth through a variety of actions such subdivision fees. Then expects rate payers to pay for the TCC blunders.
boycott
Posted on 28-02-2012 19:18 | By Mr bay
Might be time for a rates boycott.....
Helios
Posted on 28-02-2012 19:57 | By Helios
It would appear that Council considers us, the ratepayer, as the source of endless fund providers to cover up their fiscal inefficiencies. On one hand they complain that the public wastes precious water so when we respond and take on board the need to conserve they penalise us. Tauranga is a sizeable city with growing pains and I'm sure that there are some things that have to be done overtime. Not all at the same time and fleece the ratepayers at an increase above a sustainable % without regard to their being able to afford it. I hope that all the comments on this topic will be considered by the Council as a strong objection to their (dreams) proposal. Should anyone decides to form a protest group I would gladly join them and march to the Council.
It's a weird world ...
Posted on 28-02-2012 20:28 | By Murray.Guy
It's a weird world (mindset) ... that prices water increasingly out of reach of many, yet provides free gas bbq's in playgrounds. Anybody aware of a water shortage? Today, by majority, Elected Members voted to shift the cost of providing car parks from City Centre developers to anybody but them - which really only leaves you and me and increased water charges. Sorry mum!
This is exactly what we said would happen
Posted on 28-02-2012 22:30 | By whiskers
Several years ago when charging for water separately from the annual rate collection was announced it was said that prices would simply increase when the council of the day needed money for its ideas.So here we are,a council hugely in debt and looking to fleece the ratepayers again...and again...and again.I say enough is enough.Come on council publish the water accounts in a clear and concise way so that all the people of Tauranga can understand them and show why you really want to increase the water charges.Come on The Sun perhaps you can get some one in council to be honest and publish the water accounts.
If nothing changes, nothing changes.
Posted on 28-02-2012 23:44 | By splitpin
"Until residents and ratepayers have the balls to march on City Hall and throw these clowns to the wolves nothing will change. The opportunity was there in 2010 but the gutless wonder voters did nothing" Do we have someone with Teamleader/organizational skills to organize a march/protest. Paragraph two in the article has even advised & invited us that this is a course of action that would see TCC reconsider!"Unless there is strong opposition the Tauranga City Council is planning to double the fixed water charge to $52 a year" So C'mon ratepayers lets get on a bus, hire a bus, walk, pushblke, get those family vans & people movers into action. A good public speaker/s & a megaphone..... And now I need some assistance. Do we make a date & time, do we ??? There is right & wrong, justice & injustice, whats fair & reasonable & what is not. One blogger on here said TCC was "Out of Control" & I thought gee thats a bit harsh! But is it? It's only a matter of weeks since they hit us with $5 million Baypark bailout. TCC has got to stop what has become a habit. The answers to their problems & shortcomings will be found in the mirrors at Willow Street. and The cheek if the ......how dare they. Wasn't it this month they slapped us with Bayparks $5million.
It's weird allright Cr Guy??
Posted on 29-02-2012 08:07 | By Gee Really
I thought you voted for a $5million "loan" to Baypark that's guaranteed by ratepayers. I thought you voted for ratepayers to buy a Speedway business. I thought you were one of the councillors (since it was unanimous) that proposes to virtually give away a block of land in the city for education (which should be sold to Education Dept to reduce our city debt). Please tell me I'm wrong and that you were against these? Which really only leaves you and me to pay for all that Cr Guy!!! You need to take a look at your own world (mindset) ...
Waste in order to save.
Posted on 29-02-2012 11:43 | By dgk
It almost seems as if TCC is telling us to start wasting water in order to keep a lower price for water use. Well, if that's their message, I'll just have to hook up a hose from the outside tap to the stormwater drain and turn it on full. Should save me heaps of money.
nothing will change
Posted on 29-02-2012 16:42 | By Jack the Lad
unless some have the fortitude to make it happen, tauranga will be always controlled by a few inane councillors, because we bitch and moan, but come election time do nothing but vote back in the ones we complain about. So if you want change put up or shut up, someone out there must have the balls and a mandate to improve this city, so lets have an early election. I came back to this wonderful city 5 years ago after 12 years away to find nothing has really changed, the cities governers are still shortsighted, and have ostrich syndrome. A new city manager was employed on a mandate to prune staff, nope still the most over staffed council in the country. I am over it.
STRUGGLING
Posted on 29-02-2012 20:30 | By deacks
For goodness sakes we are still struggling to pay our rates of the creditcard...were does the council think all the struggling families will get this extra money from!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Clear Thinking Needed
Posted on 29-02-2012 21:37 | By johnrobson
Most of the posts on this topic are just irrational rants which demonstrate little understanding of the key issue underlying the proposed price increases. The cause is the fact that Tauranga's growth rate is significantly lower than the Council (and many others) originally forecast. The result is that fixed, step and non-linear variable costs of the water supply system have to be recovered from fewer users / lower usage. The logical result is that fixed and/or variable charges are increased. It has nothing to do with meters - it has everything to do with the Council making significant infrastructure investments based on the assumption that there would be significant growth in the ratepayer base and/or usage to support the cost. Sadly, there is a pattern of over-optimistic assumptions being used to justify investments - and when reality bites, the ratepayers being forced to pick up the tab. This can be seen in the Route K debt, the TCVL debt, and so on - the proposed increase in water charges is just another example. And there is more to come... So, how badly wrong is the Council forecast - to give you some idea, the TCC expects Tauranga to be bigger than Hamilton by 2020 - which means we need to get 40% bigger in the next 8 years! You will not find a serious demographer or statistician who'd support such nonsense - indeed Statistics NZ forecast growth of less than half that figure! Which would be kind of funny, except for every person who doesn't show, the ratepayer will have to pick up the shortfall… so, if we are 10,000 ratepayers short, think of what that means for your rates… In summary, this is NOT about meters - it is about morons - the morons that are our councillors and their moronic forecasts. And finally - as the most ardent supporter of the forecasts , can David Stewart finally admit the forecasts are wrong and pay $1,000 to Tauranga Womens Refuge - David, it is the very least you can do!
Johnrobson
Posted on 01-03-2012 06:10 | By Jack the Lad
The reason forecasts and all other "clutching at straws" figures are so wrong, is no one wants to move here anymore,because of the stupidity and shortsightedness of our so called city governers. As for irrational rants John, look in the mirror, and do not think you are the only one with any intellect, we understand alright (only to well),as far as I am aware this is still a country where free speech is not wrong. Look at New Plymouth, Invergargill, and a few other cities for direction, people are moving there for a reason, and its not the weather!!!!!
Why
Posted on 01-03-2012 11:33 | By bennyj
We are struggling to make ends meet and yet the TCC ups the water rates, its clear that they get paid too much at TCC and services must appear very cheap for them...frustrating.
Jack is a foolish lad…
Posted on 01-03-2012 16:14 | By johnrobson
… because he posts without thought (and with poor spelling, punctuation and grammar). Jack is wrong when he says that 'no one wants to move here anymore, because of the stupidity and shortsightedness of our so-called city governors”. The fact is that many are moving here (just nowhere near as many as TCC forecast) - and many more want to move here but cannot afford it for many reasons, most of which are beyond TCC's control. Jack is wrong when he describes my post as an irrational rant - it is in fact almost clinically logical, which is why Jack infers an assumption of intellectual superiority on my part - ironically vindicated by the vacuous nature of his reply. The fact is that most people did not understand just how badly wrong the forecasting of TCC was (and still is) - and therefore did not foresee the current situation. I identified the issue publicly in 2007 and repeated my warning in 2010 - indeed so confident was I that I was right that I wagered odds of a 1000 to 1 to the morons and none took up my offer. Jack is wrong when he claims that 'this is still a country where free speech is not wrong”. Free speech in this country is often wrong, based on ignorance and prejudice rather than any knowledge and/or understanding. Free speech is often free because no one sees any value in it. The fact is that while having an opinion is not illegal, some opinions have significantly more value than others - which is why I take my son to a qualified paediatrician and not a plumber - and used a plumber when building my house and not a paediatrician. As for me, people valued and paid highly for my opinion which is how I was able to retire at 40. Jack is wrong when he cites New Plymouth and Invercargill as counter-examples to Tauranga re growth. The fact is that neither has grown as fast (in both percentage and absolute terms) as Tauranga over the last 5 years - and neither is forecast by Statistics NZ to grow as fast as Tauranga. So, in his post, has Jack got anything right? Well, he has had the good sense to avoid using his name so he has avoided public embarrassment - but I'm guessing he is blushing as he reads this post. Jack (whoever you are), just in case you are not 'over it”, why not give me a call - my name and number are in the phonebook - and maybe we could meet for a coffee (my shout). Because there is one thing we seem to agree on - there is a pressing need to change the leadership of this city.
John its Jack
Posted on 01-03-2012 18:38 | By Jack the Lad
Hey you can insinuate that I am an un educated pillock, if you want, I dont really care, but forget all the facts and figures, I am a simple man, who only works in black and white, and as such, I cannot be bothered getting bogged down with complicated answers,it is the simple and uncomplicated methods that work the best, and it is way past time we had a Council that worked that way, simple, practicle solutions, cut the crap ( and 30% of the staff), and we may head in the correct direction. Rest easy though, I do not embarass easily, and we are united on changing this wonderful cities direction, before it does a "Rena", so if you are going to stand for Council again with a clear mandate, for simple open governence, you will have my vote and support, so hold the coffee until then. Cheers
Insolvency
Posted on 04-03-2012 22:57 | By R1Squid
Tauranga City Council is clearly insolvent. As a stakeholder (ratepayer), I vote that Tauranga City Council be placed in Statutory Management.
Theatre
Posted on 04-03-2012 23:15 | By R1Squid
Act 1: Councillor X, Councillor T and Councillor C; Mayor, Mayor, our water rates will be increasing on 1st July. Mayor: No problem. We will vote ourselves a cost of living increase and fund it by increasing the annual uniform rate.
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