Supplementary Agenda of Finance Committee Meeting

Item No. 10

Supplementary Agenda (Open Portion)

Finance Committee Meeting

Page 2

16/5/2017

10 Corporate Services Division - Proposed Fees and Charges for the 2017/2018 Financial Year

File Ref: F17/47739

Report of the Group Manager City Government and Customer Relations of 12 May 2017 and attachments.

Delegation: Council

The General Manager reports:

“That in accordance with the provisions of Part 2 Regulation 8(6) of the Local Government (Meeting Procedures) Regulations 2015, this supplementary matter is submitted for the consideration of the Committee.

Pursuant to Regulation 8(6), I report that:

(a) information in relation to the matter was provided subsequent to the distribution of the agenda;

(b) the matter is regarded as urgent; and

Item No. 10

Supplementary Agenda (Open Portion)

Finance Committee Meeting

Page 3

16/5/2017

REPORT TITLE: Corporate Services Division - Proposed Fees and Charges for the 2017/2018 Financial Year

REPORT PROVIDED BY: Group Manager City Government and Customer Relations

1. Report Purpose and Community Benefit

1.1. The purpose of this report is to submit the proposed fees and charges for 2017/2018, relating to the following activities of the Corporate Services Division:

· Hire of halls and spaces, including the City Hall, Town Hall, Elizabeth Street Conference Room, Waterside Pavilion and adjacent concourse, Town Hall Council Chamber and Lord Mayor’s Courtroom; and

· Customer Services activities.

2. Report Summary/Background

2.1. The Council is required to set its fees and charges for the ensuing financial year as part of its annual budget preparation process.

2.2. Subsequent to a comprehensive independent review of pricing structure for Council venues in 2014/2015, annual increases have been applied with consistency to retain relevance and avoid the need for major or catch-up adjustments.

2.2.1. Annual increases for community use are in the order of CPI movements, with non-community use attracting increases averaging 6%.

2.2.2. CPI for the March quarter is 2.35%.

2.3. The fees and charges include the hard-standing area adjacent to the Waterside Pavilion, which was previously managed by the Parks and City Amenity Division.

3. Recommendation

That the proposed schedule of fees and charges for 2017/2018, as outlined in attachments A and B, be adopted.

4. Proposal and Implementation

4.1. In addition to the recommended fee structure for the next financial year, it is proposed to increase the upper limit which may be required as a bond for the use of Council spaces.

4.2. The maximum bond provided under the fees and charges is currently $10,000.

4.3. It is recommended that this be increased to $50,000 which will enable the Council to retain a realistic bond in circumstances where the use or configuration of a space may be unusual and/or the risk of damage to infrastructure may be considered as high.

4.4. It is also proposed to vary the descriptors currently applied to the two-tiered fee structure, from the existing nomenclature of community/commercial, to community/non-community.

4.5. This recognises the Council’s longstanding commitment to maximise access to its spaces for community use through the application of a lower fee structure.

4.6. The fees attaching to the customer services activity relate substantially to income collected for the preparation of Section 132 and 337 certificates which predominately apply upon the sale and purchase of property.

4.6.1. These fees are set by the Government under schedule 3 of the Local Government (General) Regulations, and are to be ratified by the Council.

5. Financial Implications

5.1. Funding Source and Impact on Current Year Operating Result

5.1.1. There is no impact on the current financial year result.

5.2. Impact on Future Years’ Financial Result

5.2.1. Forecast income from the fees and charges has been factored into the Council’ annual budget preparation.

5.3. Asset Related Implications

5.3.1. There are no asset related impacts.

6. Legal, Risk and Legislative Considerations

6.1. There are no legal or risk considerations.

7. Delegation

7.1. Setting of fees and charges is reserved to the Council under s 205 of the Local Government Act 1993.

As signatory to this report, I certify that, pursuant to Section 55(1) of the Local Government Act 1993, I hold no interest, as referred to in Section 49 of the Local Government Act 1993, in matters contained in this report.

M_johns_adobe signature

Margaret Johns

Group Manager City Government and Customer Relations

Date: 12 May 2017

File Reference: F17/47739

Attachment a: Halls Fees and Charges 2017/2018 ⇩

Attachment b: Customer Services Fees and Charges 2017/2018 ⇩