Buried in the fine print…

Thursday, 15 February 2024

Dog owners are in the firing line with small increases in registration, neutering and impounding, but there’s also a sweetener with some funding for two dog park upgrades.

The cost of being buried, hiring a venue for a kid’s birthday party and registering a dog all look set to rise as Wellington City Council looks for ways to keep its spending in check.

The fee increases are outlined in the council’s draft 10-year plan, which also proposes cuts to a raft of community services such as libraries, community centres and swimming pools, and events including its signature New Year’s eve waterfront festivities.

In a report to the councillors officers recommend making “trade-offs” to allow for additional investment in “core infrastructure such as three waters”.

Those trade-offs refer to a suite of user-pays activities, including for cremations, burials, plot purchasing, and disinterment.

Higher charges are also in the works for hiring space to throw birthday parties, while it will also cost more to participate in roller disco, pickle-ball or badminton at Kilbirnie rec centre.

Dog owners are in the firing line with small increases in registration, neutering and impounding, though there’s also a sweetener with some funding for two dog park upgrades.

And food premises are also under the microscope –fees for set up licenses, inspections, compliance and food control plans will increase.

Anyone living on a boat moored in Evans Bay will be forking out an extra $63 for their annual “liveaboard fee,” tipped to rise to $1320.90. Presumably that’s on top of the annual Evans Bay berthing fee, which goes up from $3513 to $3688.70.

Fees for paperwork involving building and resource consents, along with compliance, LIMs and the like is also expected to ramp up.

Other areas the council has its eye on include a planned $20m upgrade of Begonia House in the Botanic Garden, which officers recommend be deferred despite noting that will increase the eventual cost, and planned spending on coastal beautification, also likely to go.