Each year, the Council reviews its schedule of user fees and charges as part of the Annual Plan process. This ensures that the cost of delivering services is appropriately recovered and that charges remain fair and reflective of the effort and resources involved.

For 2026/27, the Council has reviewed all fees and charges and is proposing a mix of general inflation-based increases, targeted increases for specific services, and no change where fees are set externally or are already considered appropriate.

This table outlines the key proposed changes, you can scroll through the tabs below for more information.

Inflation-based adjustment – 2.6 percent Increase

The majority of fees and charges are proposed to increase by 2.6 percent, in line with the BERL local government cost index forecasts for 2026/27. This is a standard adjustment to ensure Council’s charges keep pace with the rising cost of delivering services.

The current and new fees are listed in the Proposed User Fees and Charges Schedule 2026/27.

The BERL Local Government Cost Index (LGCI) is a specialised inflationary measure developed by Business and Economic Research Limited (BERL) for New Zealand councils to forecast price changes in local government operating and capital costs, such as infrastructure materials, construction, and wages.

Targeted Increases for specific services

A number of fees are proposed to increase by more than 2.6 percent. For these services, the current fee is not sufficient to cover the actual cost of delivering the service. These include:

• Consent and/or compliance fees for Resource Management Act (RMA) Section 127 and Section 139 applications. These fees have been revised to better reflect the costs of processing these applications. The increases are:

• Infrastructure contributions – these increase in line with the new Wairarapa Combined District Plan, which became operative in November 2025. The increases are:

• Rural rapid property numbering – fees have been revised to achieve full cost recovery. This increases the establishment cost from $60 to $160.
• Transfer Station gate charges – an average increase of 3.75 percent (including the 2.6 percent inflation adjustment) to account for the increase in waste levy charge set by central government.

Note - Dog Registration Fees are set separately to the Annual Plan process. Early indications, based on 2026/27 Annual Plan numbers, suggest a 12 percent increase to dog registration fees may be required. Other Animal Services charges have increased by 2.6 percent, in line with inflation.

Some fees and charges are not increasing in the 2026/27 annual plan. This is because they are set by central government, or current fees are considered appropriate.

These include:

• RMA Planning Fees – set by central government (these are separate to the proposed fees changes above)
• Parking Infringements – set by central government.
• Library fees – current fees are considered appropriate, so no uplift is proposed.

Encroachment Licenses

The Council is receiving an increasing number of requests from businesses to operate on Council land or extend activities into the footpath and road reserve outside their premises. A policy and associated procedures are being developed to give effect to the Wairarapa Consolidated Bylaw Part Two: Public Places (including Parks and Reserves). This work will include setting out the fees associated with encroachments.