Water charges outrage

BY MIKE BISHARA

An outpouring from ratepayers followed the Rodney District Council's switch to volumetric charging for household wastewater services.

Complaints have flooded in to the Rodney Times and the council.

The council says volumetric charging has been well explained, is based on a user pays system and is fairer across the board for all ratepayers.

"It is not a new additional charge," says council business analyst Dan Auber.

"In terms of billing, if you use council wastewater services in any shape or form, the utility charge remains on the main rates bill as before and covers payment for the capital cost of the system," he says.

Last year, this amounted to an average of $394 for the Hibiscus Coast and $384 for other areas. This year the numbers fell to $355 and $330 respectively because of an increase in the number of users and a smaller capital cost overall to be serviced.

To introduce the volumetric charging system, the council made a couple of assumptions.

For those on a metered supply, it is generally accepted across other councils using the system, and by studying use in Rodney, that 80 percent of measured consumption can be attributed to wastewater such as toilets and washing related activities, the council says.

"The volumetric charge is billed separately every six months and is based on water usage for the same period," Mr Auber says.

An average user this year therefore faces a bill based on 80 percent of 160 kilolitres of usage - 128 kilolitres or $244, which was $267 last year on a pan charge basis, and $504 - previously $493 - for other areas.

The second assumption is that if you use less than 120 kilolitres a year, you are likely to have a supplementary system such as a tank or bore.

In these cases, ratepayers were billed the "fixed usage" charge which applies to households not using mains water at all, but which do use the wastewater
facility.

This is $274 for the Hibiscus Coast and $509 for other areas.

Mr Auber says "low use declaration forms" were sent to people who used less than 120 kilolitres of water last year to complete if their only water source was mains water.

"Upon approving this form, we recalculate the amount they should have been charged from July 1 onwards and recalculate the amount owing for both those who have paid and those who have not. If they have paid already, the recalculation leads to a credit on their next bill," he says.

So far the council has received 2200 forms of the 4800 sent out to Hibiscus Coast ratepayers on October 25, and just 100 from the 2700 sent out to other areas on November 15.

Ratepayers should return the forms quickly.

"If forms are received after the next billing in April and May and are approved, we will make sure we charge the person volumetrically going forwards. But we won't recalculate the billing for the first nine months on the Hibiscus Coast, and 10 months for other areas," he says.

A flush of complaints came from holiday home owners, including many from Snells Beach, that they should not pay the fixed rate charge because they only use their homes for a short period each year, although this system has been in place for years.

The council is running a pilot scheme on the effect of using meters to measure the wastewater discharge by metering people's private water source as a proxy for wastewater discharge.

Council says they didn’t mislead

The Rodney District Council did not mislead ratepayers when proclaiming an average rates increase of 4.9 percent across the board for this year, says council corporate affairs director Kevin Ramsay.

"Total rates last year were $99.5 million and the rating base has increased by 1.35 percent through growth since then. Therefore, total rates would have effectively been $100.8m taking into account this increase.

"The actual total for 2009/10, including the rating base increase, is $105.7m, an increase of 4.9 percent," he says.

"When comparing rates between the two years, the previous wastewater pan charge and new wastewater volumetric charge were included, ensuring that 'apples were compared to apples'," says Mr Ramsay.

- © Fairfax NZ News