Post by Brent George on Jun 23, 2020 22:41:36 GMT
This article caught my eye: Stuff - Farming: 24-June-2020
A Hurunui farmer has hit out at his local council for charging him almost $2000 to install an above-ground effluent tank.....
I am not surprised at the farmer's surprise.
On the one hand the Local Authorities have jobs to do and are part of a relatively comprehensive approvals process for the benefit (and protection) of the wider community.
But in recent times the 'cost-recovery' adage has meant that the bulk of the consent processing fees are considered "deposits", with the final fee calculated and charged at the end of the project. The issues arise when a minor or simple application gets loaded with several hours of Council staff receipt/processing/review/sign-off time. It becomes a take-it-or-leave-it charge as there is little ability for an applicant to object to the "X" hours of Council time to do the task - with no ability to confirm if they were efficient in doing their bit....
With the recent scrapping of consent requirements for "low risk" projects, (Field Notes - 25-May-2020) this problem may not ignite. But let's hope the subsequent reduction in TLA income from the loss of these rats and mice consenting fees does not impact on the resource consenting fees - resulting in subdivision and land use consents being inflated even more.....
A Hurunui farmer has hit out at his local council for charging him almost $2000 to install an above-ground effluent tank.....
I am not surprised at the farmer's surprise.
On the one hand the Local Authorities have jobs to do and are part of a relatively comprehensive approvals process for the benefit (and protection) of the wider community.
But in recent times the 'cost-recovery' adage has meant that the bulk of the consent processing fees are considered "deposits", with the final fee calculated and charged at the end of the project. The issues arise when a minor or simple application gets loaded with several hours of Council staff receipt/processing/review/sign-off time. It becomes a take-it-or-leave-it charge as there is little ability for an applicant to object to the "X" hours of Council time to do the task - with no ability to confirm if they were efficient in doing their bit....
With the recent scrapping of consent requirements for "low risk" projects, (Field Notes - 25-May-2020) this problem may not ignite. But let's hope the subsequent reduction in TLA income from the loss of these rats and mice consenting fees does not impact on the resource consenting fees - resulting in subdivision and land use consents being inflated even more.....