Nelson Tasman Settlement Support

A Partnership between Department of Labour and Nelson City Council

Paying rates and water

Every homeowner is required to pay taxes for owning a property, these are called rates. Rates are established annually by the local council once it determines what to charge for the services the council provides. Rates are an annual charge, but can often be paid in a variety of instalments – check your local council for more information.

Councils also bill for water used. Meters are installed at every property and councils bill for water usage periodically through the year, or at the least annually. Water charges are set annually, usually in coordination with rates.

What rates pay for

In Nelson and Tasman, all the tasks the two Councils perform are services for its residents. Examples of services include rubbish collection, water supply, sewerage, environmental monitoring, and air quality monitoring. Each service has a set commitment level that the Council uses to aim for excellence. It is the description of the service output (something the council provides) for a particular activity or service area against which performance may be measured. Setting a level of service helps set the amount of funding required to meet that level of service.

For example, some levels of service include providing safe drinking water, providing a water supply with Ab water grading with a target of Aa by a date in the future, or minimising stormwater blockages within the system such as aiming for fewer than 25 pipe blockages per 100km of pipe.

Assessing Council services

Council constantly assesses the levels of service delivered in terms of quality, quantity, reliability, timelines, cost or responsiveness. The levels of service are extensively reviewed every three years as part of the Council’s long-term planning process, reviewed regularly through each year, and can be adjusted as part of the Council’s Annual Plan.

The reviews are primarily driven by the community through verbal feedback and resident surveys. Feedback and surveys provide Council with an idea of what the community’s values and what its concerns are. It tells Council if they are delivering true value for rates dollars.

The tricky thing with levels of service is that not everyone in the community will agree on everything.  While many will agree that high quality drinking water and an efficient sewerage system are vital there are many of levels of service which are much more subjective. Council sets its priorities for levels of service on what it feels is best for the majority of people in the community, while understanding that any decision will not please everyone.