Raglan rates are going up again. First it was Waikato Region with a 3% increase. Now Waikato District has added to this with the rate increase built into their long term plan plus a surcharge of another $156 a year for inspecting and cleaning sewers.
A Waikato District media release says ratepayers can check the impact on their individual rates with an online rates calculator on the Council’s website at www.waikatodistrict.govt.nz/rid. But when I checked it I found that the calculator predicted that rates on a typical Raglan property would decrease by $128 a year. The problem is that the ‘calculator’ doesn’t compare like with like as it leaves out the cost of metered water in the 2017/18 prediction.
Comparing like with like the actual increase for a typical Raglan property is over $200 a year – about 6%.
The rate surcharge money will be used for more inspections and cleaning of the sewers, known as ‘Option Two’.
The vote on the increase for ‘Option Two’ was:
For: Mayor Allan Sanson, Cr Lisa Thomson, Cr Noel Smith, Cr Jan Sedgwick, Cr Bronwyn Main, Cr Frank McInally, Cr Rob McGuire, Deputy Mayor Dynes Fulton, Cr Jacqui Church, Cr Aksel Bech
Against: Cr Stephanie Henderson, Cr Shelley Lynch and Cr Eugene Patterson
An Annual Plan for 2017/18 incorporating this option will now be drafted for formal adoption at an extraordinary Council meeting on 28 June before the annual plan deadline of July 1.
A post on the Raglan Community Board Facebook says, “If you have any questions or concerns please contact Lisa Thomson, your Raglan Ward Councillor on 0211798256 or email lisa.thomson@waidc.govt.nz. Also, Lisa will be at her Councillor Korero tomorrow @ Raglan library from 1030 – 1.30pm.”
After a preliminary report on Waikato District sewers by Jacobs, an engineering consultancy, the council undertook extensive consultation with Waikato communities on three improvement options. While most people opted for the cheapest option, the councillors voted for the more expensive option two. Option 2 would allow for about 50% of the network to be assessed by the time the Long Term Plan was due to be considered in 2018, and for the whole network to be assessed by mid-2019.
Councillor Eugene Patterson said they had not listened to their communities, which showed Option One was preferred.
Option One, was to mitigate key overflow risks and separate wastewater operations. That work is currently under way. “A very common theme of what comes through when you talk to people about stuff is: you don’t bloody listen. What’s the point?” Patterson said. “So, today, we didn’t bloody listen.”
Jacobs Waikato/ Bay of Plenty business leader Ian Garside gave an updated report to the councillors. The update showed 28 kilometres of networks in Raglan, Ngaruawahia and Huntly have been cleaned and inspected so far, with work in other district townships to start in June.
Networks were found to be prone to blockages, with both light and heavy debris found. The pipes were in a poor condition, with low velocity flows, and had capacity issues during wet weather.
Garside recommended the cleaning continue, along with accelerating public education, seeking resource consent for overflows and increasing service delivery capacity.
He said in two weeks’ time they hope to be completed and will finalise the reports before giving another update.
Commenting on the impetus to consider the issue, Mayor Sanson said, “There was a strong demand from Councillors in this Chamber to lift the level of services we provide after the problems we had [in Raglan Harbour] last year.”
He said, “The Jacobs report highlighted for me the lack of understanding we had about our infrastructure… Raglan was the catalyst to force our hand to do something about it.”
The Waikato District Council says it has decided to proceed with the option that will allow it to prepare long term plans to protect waterways and environmentally sensitive areas.
While acknowledging that work is needed on the pipe infrastructure, the costings under the document, “you Wastewater rates are rising” were subject to unrestrained high estimates and inaccuracies. A number of us submitted for a “No increase to rates” but a large number of our residents voted for the increase and a wastewater rate charge double that paid in Waipa and substancially higher that Auckland and Hamilton. Rates for many will now be higher than the maximum affordable levels stated by the WDC and the Government guidelines.