User Fees and Charges 2026/27 review

We’re proposing to increase our non-regular aircraft landing fee charges by 10% to better align us with the general aviation market.

The airport is entirely funded by user fees, meaning any additional revenue from landing fees will directly support its operations without affecting rates. Council has carefully considered these changes to strike a balance between affordability and making sure the airport remains a great option for locals and visitors alike.

Increases for building services include 3% inflation plus 5% increase to cover costs of delivering the activity.

Detailed financial forecasting was carried out during the 2024-34 Long-term Plan (LTP) process on building services costs. A decision was made to increase fees 5% each year for the first five years of the LTP, rather than put the fees up significantly in year one of the LTP. This will be reviewed each year to determine if increases are needed and only applied if the cost predictions are still accurate.

A new fee has been included for an application for departure from Infrastructure Development Code (IDC) requirements to recover staff time in processing these applications. A $2000 deposit will be required, with any variations from this deposit refunded or invoiced following completion of application.

Council is required to collect a fee for Food Control Plans and National Programmes on behalf of the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI). This fee set by MPI, is set to increase to $99.19 from 1 July 2026.

We are removing the new and annual registration fees for hairdressers following a central government change that no longer requires hairdressers to obtain registration.

We’re proposing to increase the courier fee for property files on USB and paper copy LIMs to reflect the actual cost of updated courier charges and the non-returnable USB stick. The fee would increase from $11.50 to $17.00. 

We are also proposing to introduce a combined 10-day LIM and Property File service for commercial properties, applying the same discount currently offered for residential requests.

With the new Library - Te Manawataki o Te Papa scheduled to open in late 2026, we are proposing the introduction of new room hire fees to recover some of the cost to hire the spaces that will be available for public booking.

An increase to the ‘top title’ book charge is also proposed, as no adjustments including CPI have been applied for the past five years. The fee would increase from $3.00 to $3.50.

A new fee of $250 for an automated electronic report has been proposed as Council is currently trialling a new software solution to automatically generate planning reports tailored to individual applications. It is expected that this will result in a 15-30% reduction in the amount of time required to complete a planning assessment, leading to significant overall savings for users. This new fee will recover the per-application cost of the software and will only be applied should the trial be successful.

The pre-application advice fee has also been changed from a set fee of $886 to as per hourly rate/actual cost. This is to ensure that we are recovering our cost of providing this service and to encourage uptake.

Due to a recent RMA amendment that provided for a new cost recovery pathway, a new fee is being proposed to monitor compliance with a permitted activity rule. This fee will only apply where it has been confirmed that a city plan rule has been breached and determined that charges should apply to recover the cost of Council’s response. These costs will be invoiced to the person or persons deemed to be responsible for the breach.

Fees for additional roles have also been included to reflect the work being performed.

Two new fees have been proposed for greater cost recovery for extension to work access permits and an overdue penalty. These have been set in line with other similar fees nationally at $65 and $100.

Changes to the Street Use and Public Places Bylaw now allow all businesses city wide to use a standard 1.5 square metre area of footpath for street dining or commercial display without requiring a licence. Any additional use will require approval through a licence. As a result, the previous zone-based fee structure has been removed and replaced with a single citywide fee. In addition, the current 50% discount has been updated so that business will now pay $60 of the $100 per square metre annual charge.

Due to the introduction of a new regional waste licensing administration system managed by BOPLASS from 1 July 2026, we have updated the fee structure for licences to collect waste. The proposed fees reflect the actual cost of administering and issuing these licences under the new system, ensuring cost recovery and consistency across the region.

The fees for replacement bins have been updated to reflect the true cost of supplying new bins to both residential properties and multi unit developments (MUDs). These adjustments ensure that the charges better match the actual cost of providing the service.

To ensure we can continue providing a reliable and high-quality water supply, our charges are set to cover the actual costs of the operation over time. A 7.5% increase has been applied to water supply and wastewater fees to support the Water Services Delivery Plan. As the costs of maintenance, infrastructure upgrades and servicing increase, charges need to increase accordingly.

A new fee for an hourly rate for the Pollution Prevention Officer is proposed to ensure recovery of staff time. The rate of $222.80 has been aligned with comparable wastewater roles, maintaining consistency across the fees and charges schedule.

The proposed changes to the Trade Waste Bylaw require updating the classification of trade waste discharges. The bylaw will require permits for controlled, conditional and renewals. The proposed fees are intended to align with the new permit structure introduced through the bylaw.