Consultations will begin this month on proposed changes to budgets, projects and fees and charges in our draft Annual Plan, on the process of allocating and charging for Licensed Commercial Operators on reserve land, and on whether to include organic waste as part of our Kerbside rubbish and recycling collection service.

At its meeting this week our Council agreed that these three consultations should go ahead. Read the meeting agenda here where you can also view the meeting recording, or watch it on the viewer above.

Consultation on the proposals in our draft Annual Plan consultation document (What’s Changing for 2022/23?) for the coming financial year (2022/23) opens tomorrow, Friday 11 March, and runs until Monday 11 April.

The Annual Plan sets the budgets, project priorities, fees and charges and rates for the financial year. It updates what was forecast for the financial year in the 2021-2031 Long Term Plan.

We’re proposing some changes to fees and charges for harbour facilities, to lessen the ratepayers’ share of the costs to maintain and operate boat ramps and wharves in favour of users paying more for these facilities. Right now ratepayers shoulder most of the burden of these costs.

“There is a huge demand for our harbour facilities,” says our Mayor Sandra Goudie. “It’s growing exponentially. The feedback we’re receiving is that you think visitors and other users should contribute more to the costs of the services they use and enjoy. We agree.”

In our proposal, the fee structure for the six ramps we currently charge to use would change a bit, plus three additional ramps would have a user charge, as indicated on the map below. The remaining 17 of our 26 ramps would still be free to the user.

Our consultation document will be available from Friday with more details on this proposal plus information on changes to our capital work programme and an updated proposal to protect in perpetuity the open space land at Matarangi currently occupied by the golf course. This proposal would have no direct impact on either district or Mercury Bay Ward rates.

For full details on these proposals, read through our consultation document What’s Changing for 2022/23?, which will be available to view or download from our website at tcdc.govt.nz/annualplan2022. Or, request a printed copy at our service centres.

You can view the report to our Council on the draft Annual Plan here.

Allocating and charging Licensed Commercial Operators on our parks and reserves

This consultation is proposing changes to how commercial operators (like coffee carts and food trucks) apply and pay to use our parks and reserves.

Instead of set fees for a licence, we’re suggesting a weighted tender model. If a weighted tender model goes ahead, a new policy will also need to be created. We’d like your feedback on the existing application model, the proposed policy and the new application process.

For more details, go to tcdc.govt.nz/commercialoperators once the feedback period opens this Friday 11 March. Consultation closes Sunday 10 April.

The comprehensive report to our Council on this consultation is here.

Kitchen food waste and garden clippings – add them to Kerbside collections?

A consultation to gauge whether people in our district would like organic waste included in Kerbside rubbish and recycling collections, has been endorsed by Council at its meeting this week as well.

Any organic waste collected could consist of just kitchen scraps, or also garden clippings.

This consultation will run from 22 March to 12 April and we’ll have more information on the options we’d like you to consider and their potential cost before then.

The feedback you provide will be used to inform a new solid waste services contract/s to replace the current one which ends on 31 August 2023.

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