Council to save $1.3 million over the next ten years

Council’s decision to exit the refuse collection business will save $130,000 per year or $1.3 million over the ten years of the Community Plan 2009-19. Council stopped selling its ‘black bags’ on September 25th. The savings on black bags was one of the reasons for low rate increases in 2009/10.

 

Over the last few years, Waitaki consumers opted for private sector refuse collectors like TPI and Awamoa Bins & Skips over the Council service. Consumer choice was not in favour of the black bags. The private sector operators took a market share of 83 per cent for kerbside collection, leaving Council with just 17 per cent of the market.

 

A number of Waitaki residents expressed annoyance at paying rates for refuse collection when 83 per cent of the community were already using private contractors. They viewed it as a form of ‘double charging’.

 

The Waitaki community made it very clear earlier this year during the Waitaki Community Plan consultations that they wanted lower rates and more ‘user pays. By a margin of nearly six to one, people surveyed in the Waitaki Express in April wanted “more user pays and lower rates”. Only 32 per cent of survey respondents thought that rates money should be used to keep the price of black bags down.