Stockwater users face huge fee hike
By local democracy reporter Jonathan Leask:
The cost for council stockwater services in Mid Canterbury could more than double.
The minimum charge for Ashburton District Council’s stockwater is proposed to increase from $260 to $700.
The cost increase will be part of a wider revenue and financing policy consultation process coinciding with the draft long-term plan, in which the council proposes to end delivering stockwater by June 2027.
Councillor Russell Ellis was concerned about the message the proposed increase could be sending.
“I wonder if there is a perceived risk to council going out with this increase to $700 at the same time we are going out with the stockwater closure in three years’ time, for people saying we are trying to influence that decision by doing this as well.”
But councillor Richard Wilson said the proposed increase would only help encourage stockwater users to start seriously considering alternate delivery options sooner.
“It will bring out where we are trying to head with stockwater.
“This will focus their minds and should help with our process.”
The targeted rate is based on the race length crossing or adjoining a property and is used to fund race maintenance.
A declining number of contributors means that the stockwater budget, which exceeds $1m, is being divided between fewer ratepayers over time and making the current approach unsustainable, the council report stated.
The solution is for the remaining users to pay more.
The minimum charge for race lengths up to 246m is proposed to more than double by increasing to $700.
The increase would also reduce the per metre charge for the races over the 246m.
The other options are to increase the charge to $500, increase it to $700 by 2025-26 – making consecutive $220 increases, or keep the status quo.
The council previously consulted on increasing the minimum charge to $600 in 2021.
The majority of the 105 submissions supported the status quo and the council decided to only increase the minimum charge by $50 each year for the first three years of the 2021-31 long-term plan.
Since 2021, there has been a reduction of 25% in stockwater ratepayers and a 20% reduction in network length, senior policy adviser Richard Mabon said.
It was unclear if the reductions were driven by the $50 increases or other factors, Mabon said.
Volumetric charging is not an option as the council is not able to gauge what each property uses.
Stockwater is part-funded from the general rate due to the community-wide benefit aspects, and in 2023-24 it was 7.5% of the total funding.
It is proposed to increase to be between 10% and 20%.
Worst Xmas ever?
There's a a lot of planning that goes into Christmas day and sometimes things just don't go to plan. But it can be a good thing - a family mishap or hilarious memory that you can laugh about in Christmases to come.
Whether you burnt the dinner or were stranded at an airport...
Share your Christmas mishaps below!
⚠️ DOGS DIE IN HOT CARS. If you love them, don't leave them. ⚠️
It's a message we share time and time again, and this year, we're calling on you to help us spread that message further.
Did you know that calls to SPCA about dogs left inside hot cars made up a whopping 11% of all welfare calls last summer? This is a completely preventable issue, and one which is causing hundreds of dogs (often loved pets) to suffer.
Here are some quick facts to share with the dog owners in your life:
👉 The temperature inside a car can heat to over 50°C in less than 15 minutes.
👉 Parking in the shade and cracking windows does little to help on a warm day. Dogs rely on panting to keep cool, which they can't do in a hot car.
👉 This puts dogs at a high risk of heatstroke - a serious condition for dogs, with a mortality rate between 39%-50%.
👉 It is an offence under the Animal Welfare Act to leave a dog in a hot vehicle if they are showing signs of heat stress. You can be fined, and prosecuted.
SPCA has created downloadable resources to help you spread the message even further. Posters, a flyer, and a social media tile can be downloaded from our website here: www.spca.nz...
We encourage you to use these - and ask your local businesses to display the posters if they can. Flyers can be kept in your car and handed out as needed.
This is a community problem, and one we cannot solve alone. Help us to prevent more tragedies this summer by sharing this post.
On behalf of the animals - thank you ❤️
Poll: Would you rather: Christmas in summer forever or winter forever?
Just a bit of a fun poll to get you thinking.
If you had to live out your Christmas days, would you prefer it was a summer Christmas or a winter Christmas?
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61.7% Summer
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36.7% Winter
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1.6% Other - I'll share below
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