Deliberations around Fees and Charges for 2025/2026 were on the table for discussion in the Council Chamber at the end of May.
The affordability of waste disposal and dog control fees were raised as issues of particular concern by the community.
Our Resource Recovery Centres are receiving less waste than forecast, due to the recent economic downturn, waste minimisation initiatives and some waste being taken directly to York Landfill.
We had proposed an 18% increase in mixed refuse charges but reduced this to 15% to address affordability concerns and try and ensure waste is more affordably managed.
Elected Members also discussed the proposed increase in dog registration fees in response to the submissions opposing this. The fees have only had minimal increases over the past decade so the increase was proposed to recover the costs of providing a sustainable and fit-for-purpose dog control service, and to ensure that those benefiting from the service are the ones paying for it, rather than general ratepayers.
This means that urban dogs will cost $90 for the coming year, rural dogs will cost $70, and a new category for working dogs will be introduced with a $50 registration fee. The resulting fees are comparable with the dog registration fees of many other councils across the country.
The annual monitoring and administration fee for mooring licences was reduced from the proposed $226 to $153 in response to submissions.
All other proposed fees and charges in the schedule were confirmed.
A final Schedule of Fees and Charges 2025/2026 will be presented for adoption at the Council meeting on 25 June 2025, before coming into effect on 1 July 2025.