Building consent fees rise by 10 percent

Building consent fees charged by the Far North District Council rose by 10 percent on Monday.

Councillors voted last month to raise fees and invite public submissions on plans to increase resource consent fees by 10 percent.

Environmental management general manager Fran Mikulicic says the increases are needed to keep pace with inflation, recover a shortfall in projected fees revenue and avoid a big increase in fees during the next financial year when the council would otherwise find itself in "catch-up" mode.

A shortfall of about $650,000 between fee income and controllable expenses arose because fee increases approved by the council last December were lower than had been requested and the number of consents processed had dropped from the high levels of the 2007/08 financial year.

"A 10 percent increase this year will enable the council to regain some ground and bring fees closer in line with inflationary pressures.

"The increase will generate an income of about $140,000 during the next six months. It will be supplemented by about $250,000 expected to come from current cost savings, increased efficiencies and short-term redeployment of staff," Ms Mikulicic says.

She says the council’s building consent fees are in the lower 50 percent of those charged by other councils.

The council’s planning hourly rates are about 10 percent less than other authorities showing that it is undercharging for consent processing services.

The council should assess and adjust its consent fees each year with implementation dates of July 1 to enable better forward planning, she says.

"This would allow fees to be advertised at the beginning of the calendar year as part of the annual plan and the consequences to be measured before budgets are set."

A working party of four elected representatives will work with Ms Mikulicic to develop recommendations aimed at further streamlining processes and improving customer services.

Among other changes, the "base monitoring fee" for building will be replaced with a more equitable "levy" set at $1.30 for every $1000 of the value of the application.

"This is fairer than the present system which doesn’t differentiate between a carport and a million dollar home," she says.

"They are charged the same base fee regardless of value, the processing skill level required and the risk to the council."

The code of compliance certificate will increase from $88 to $150 and a "planning check fee" will be isolated from the project information memorandum process, which becomes voluntary under new legislation to be introduced early next year.

People have until December 16 to make submissions to the planned rise in resource consent fees.

- © Fairfax NZ News