In addition to rates and government subsidies and grants, the main source of revenue which funds Council activities is fees and charges.

When people apply for a Council approval, license or registration, use Council services, or otherwise cause Council to incur cost in implementing its statutory functions, Council is able to charge the beneficiary or applicant, under provisions in specific legislation or under general powers in the Local Government Act 2002.

Fees and charges enable partial recovery of Council’s costs and administration of its statutory functions. Section 101(3) of the Local Government Act 2002 requires funding to be from those sources determined to be appropriate following a consideration of various factors. These factors include the distribution of benefits between the community as a whole and those individuals undertaking the activity, the period of when those benefits are expected to occur and contributions to community outcomes by the activity.

Section 12 of the Local Government Act 2002 provides Council with a broad general power for setting fees and charges for goods, services and amenities provided by Council to the community. Council has specific delegations for the setting of fees and charges in its Delegations Register.

The CPI released by Statistics New Zealand for the quarter ending September 2024 was 2.2%. This level of increase will be applied to most of the current fees for 2025/26.

Fees and charges may be adjusted to achieve the targets set out in Council’s Revenue and Financing Policy. This Policy outlines the public/private benefit split which is used to determine the level of cost recovery from non-rate sources.

The Chief Executive has delegation to set fees and charges where the increase is less than or in line with CPI. Council approval is required for increases in fees and charges over the current CPI or where Council approval is otherwise required (for example by a bylaw or by legislation).

Some fees and charges covered under a bylaw require consultation to make any amendments. Fees and charges under the Resource Management Act 1991 (section 36) and the Food Act 2014 (section 205) must be consulted on using a Special Consultative Procedure (SCP) as set out in the Local Government Act 2002. In undertaking a SCP, the Local Government Act 2002 requires the Council to make the statement of proposal publicly available, along with a description of how persons interested in the proposal will be provided with an opportunity to present their views and the period during which those views may be provided to the Council.

The public consultation process provides an opportunity for the public and other stakeholders to engage in the process and a structured way in which Council can respond to any concerns that may be raised.

The following are the key methods used to raise public awareness of the consultation process and to encourage those who may be affected or have an interest in the proposals to present their views.

• Advertising key information and dates in Our Nelson on 12 March and 26 March 2025
• Publishing relevant information, key documents and timeframe for making submissions on the Nelson City Council Shape website
• Issuing a media release outlining the proposal and the key issues also to be sent to relevant industry associations.
• Make available, at no cost, hard copies of the Statement of Proposal from the Customer Service Centre and Council libraries.