Media Release
16 June 2006

Green Light for New Council Controlled Trading Organisation
Manukau City Council’s long term plan decisions finalised

Councillors at Wednesday night’s Manukau City Council meeting signed off the creation of Manukau Building Consultants Services unit as a Council Controlled Trading Organisation (CCTO).

The decision to establish Leisure Services as a Council Controlled Organisation was deferred for four months. This will allow the issues identified in submissions to be addressed, and reported back to Council. The extended timeframe will still allow the CCO to be established in July 2007 if it is decided to proceed with it, chief financial officer Geoff Foster says.

Other decisions included:

- New wastewater tariffs of $320 fixed annual charge for residential properties; $650 fixed annual charge for community users such as churches, schools, and other community facilities; $950 for businesses, these applying to users up to 400 cubic metres per year

- Variable wastewater charges of $2.38 per cubic metre for usage over 400 cubic metres up to 25,000 cubic metres per year. Charges for usage over 25,000 cubic metres will be by negotiation

- A water tariff of $1.143 per cubic metre

- A Network Growth Charge of about $1575 a year for each new water connection

- Pay and display for parking will apply on Davies Avenue, and at the Half-moon Bay boat ramp. The fees will not apply to ferry users.

- Council’s proposed upgrade of its Housing for the Elderly units will go ahead in a two-stage programme between 2006 and 2010

- Funding for passenger transport and major roading improvements, such as the Auckland Manukau Eastern Transport Initiative, the Whitford arterial road upgrade, the Waiouru Peninsula to SH1 connection, Ormiston Road upgrade and the Great South Road-Beaumonts Bridge realignment, was approved.

The final Long Term Plan will be ratified at Council’s 29 June meeting, after it has been audited by Audit New Zealand. The plan will be advertised in local newspapers in the first week of July and publicised in the council’s publication Manukau Matters in the last week of July.

ENDS

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