Council backs landfill fee hike, despite fly-tip fear
The cost of taking a trailer load of rubbish to the dump could go up to $200 if the Nelson City Council goes ahead with proposed new fees.
At a meeting yesterday, the council agreed to a new schedule of charges for services that will go out for public consultation as part of its Long-term Plan.
However, although the list went through unchanged, many councillors expressed concerns about some of the proposed increases and said they were keen to hear what the public had to say – with many expecting a backlash to the proposals.
The main point of contention at the meeting was the average 17.7% increase to fees for taking rubbish to the Nelson Waste Recovery Centre, well above the consumer price index inflation rate of 5.6%.
According to the report presented to councillors, the higher increase would be “more reflective of the cost of disposal”.
Fees at the York Valley Landfill were also proposed to increase 17.7%, and staff were proposing to match that at the recovery centre, the report said.
Some of the proposed fees include the cost of a general bag of rubbish of up to 65 litres going from $6.40 to $7.50; a car boot going from $43 to $50; and a 1.5m³ to 2m³ trailer load going from $167 to $200. Nelson mayor Nick Smith said he was uncomfortable with the increases at a time when many households and businesses were struggling with the rising cost of living.
“It’s just too easy for us to say, ‘Let’s whack another 18% on families.’”
He worried the increase would lead to more people dumping rubbish because they couldn’t afford the fees.
“I’m getting increasing reports of people not properly disposing of their refuse.”
An example was an “old dog of a car” that had been packed with rubbish and left abandoned near his home. It was likely that whoever dumped the car could not afford to get rid of it properly, he said.
While he acknowledged that the fees used to be far too cheap, “the pendulum has gone too far the other way”.
The price per tonne at the York Valley Landfill had gone from $105 five years ago to $250, which was far too high, he said.
But other councillors argued that increasing the fees was a necessary step to force people to be more responsible with their rubbish. Councillor Matthew Benge said if the prices weren’t increased, the planet would bear the cost. “Fly-tipping isn’t a reason to not be doing the right thing.”
Councillor Trudie Brand said nobody liked fee increases, but the council had to be practical. She urged any members of the public who didn’t like the proposal to have their say during the consultation period.
Boat ramp, dog registration costs
The councillors also briefly discussed the proposed 150% increase to the boat ramp launching fee, which would result in the casual rate going from $6 to $15 and would allow the marina to recover 72% of the costs. Smith said he would be OK with an increase of “a buck a year”, but a jump to $15 was too steep.
Councillor Campbell Rollo questioned the increase to dog registration fees, given that Nelson was more expensive than Tasman.
The proposed annual standard fee would be $115, up from $109.
In response, council staff said Tasman had more dogs, including more rural dogs, which meant less follow-up and fewer complaints associated with dog ownership.