Membership
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Chairperson
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Commission
Chair Anne Tolley
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Members
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Quorum
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Half of the members
physically present, where the number of members (including vacancies) is even;
and a majority of the members physically present, where the number of
members (including vacancies) is odd.
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Meeting frequency
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As required
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Role
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To ensure the effective and
efficient governance of the City
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To enable leadership of the City
including advocacy and facilitation on behalf of the community.
Scope
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Oversee the work of all
committees and subcommittees.
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Exercise all non-delegable and
non-delegated functions and powers of the Council.
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The powers Council is legally prohibited from delegating include:
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Power to make a rate.
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Power to make a bylaw.
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Power to borrow money, or purchase or dispose of assets, other
than in accordance with the long-term plan.
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Power to adopt a long-term plan, annual plan, or annual report
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Power to appoint a chief executive.
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Power to adopt policies required to be adopted and consulted on
under the Local Government Act 2002 in association with the long-term plan or
developed for the purpose of the local governance statement.
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All final decisions required to be made by resolution of the
territorial authority/Council pursuant to relevant legislation (for example:
the approval of the City Plan or City Plan changes as per section 34A Resource
Management Act 1991).
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Council has chosen not to delegate the following:
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Power to compulsorily acquire land under the Public Works Act
1981.
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Make those decisions which are required by legislation to be made
by resolution of the local authority.
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Authorise all expenditure not delegated to officers, Committees
or other subordinate decision-making bodies of Council.
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Make appointments of members to the CCO Boards of
Directors/Trustees and representatives of Council to external organisations.
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Consider any matters referred from any of the Standing or Special
Committees, Joint Committees, Chief Executive or General Managers.
Procedural matters
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Delegation of Council powers to Council’s committees and
other subordinate decision-making bodies.
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Adoption of Standing Orders.
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Receipt of Joint Committee minutes.
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Approval of Special Orders.
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Employment of Chief Executive.
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Other Delegations of Council’s powers, duties and
responsibilities.
Regulatory matters
Administration, monitoring and
enforcement of all regulatory matters that have not otherwise been delegated or
that are referred to Council for determination (by a committee, subordinate
decision-making body, Chief Executive or relevant General Manager).
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Extraordinary Council meeting Agenda
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6
June 2023
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6 Business
6.1 Dog
Registration Fees 2023 / 2024
File
Number: A14745316
Author: Brent
Lincoln, Team Leader: Animal Services
Authoriser: Sarah
Omundsen, General Manager: Regulatory and Compliance
Purpose of the Report
1. The purpose of this
report is to set Dog Registration Fees for the 2023/2024 financial year.
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Recommendations
That the Council:
(a) Receives the report
"Dog Registration Fees 2023 / 2024".
(b) Increases
the dog registration standard fee by $3.00 to $100.00 per dog.
(c) Sets the
penalty for dogs that are not registered by 31 July at 50% of the standard
fee
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background
1. Dog registration expires
on 30 June each year and the Dog Control Act 1996 (the Act) requires that all
dogs over the age of 3 months are registered by 30 June otherwise an offence is
committed.
2. Failure
to register a dog attracts a penalty under the Act. Continued failure to
register the dog can result in an infringement of $300 and / or the impoundment
of the dog. The registration must still be paid.
3. Council
may impose a penalty registration fee of up to 50% of the standard fee for any
dog not registered by 31 July of the registration year.
4. Dog
registration fees must be set annually by resolution of Council. All revenue
collected on behalf of the Dog Control Act can only be expended for purposes authorised by or under this Act.
5. The
dog registration fees for the 2022/23 year are $97.00 and the penalty for not
registering by the 31 July is set at an additional 50% (a total of $145.00).
Dog registration fees were increased in the previous financial year but had not
been increased the year before in consideration of the impact of COVID19.
6. By
way of comparison the standard dog registration is $83.00 in Whakatane (2022/23
financial year), $100.00 in WBOP (2023/24) and $110.00 in Rotorua (2023/24).
7. Note:
All dollar amounts in this report are GST Inclusive.
DOG
control act 1996
8. The
Dog Control Act 1996 sets out the categories that Council can consider when
setting Dog Control Fees. They are as follows:
(a) Fix
fees for neutered dogs that are lower than the fees for dogs that have been
neutered
(b) Fix
fees for working dogs that are lower than the fees for any other dog, and may
limit the number of working dogs owned by any person which qualify for lower
fees under this section
(c) Fix
different fees for the various classes of working dogs
(d) Fix
fees for dogs under a specified age (not exceeding 12 months) that are lower
than the fee that would otherwise be payable for those dogs
(e) Fix
for any dog that is registered by any person who demonstrates to the
satisfaction of any Dog Control Officer that that person has a specified level
of competency in terms of responsible dog ownership, a fee that is lower than
the fee that would otherwise be payable for that dog
(f) Fix
by way of penalty, subject to subsection (3) [shall not exceed 50%] an
additional fee, for the registration on structure or after the first day of the
second month of the registration year or such later day as the authority may
fix, of any dog that was required to be registered on the first day of that
registration year.
9. Tauranga
City Council has maintained a simple flat fee for many years, and this has
been maintained based on the principle that all dog owners are required to
comply with the Dog Control Act and associated Bylaws. It is considered fairer
to consider all owners as good owners and apply penalty provisions under the
Act for those that fail to register or control their dog.
10. It
is not recommended that we change this approach.
11. In
relation to (b) and (c) above, the only working dogs registered with TCC are
qualified disability assist dogs and service dogs (i.e. Police). TCC does not charge registration for these
dogs.
12. It
is not recommended that we change this approach.
setting
dog registration fees for 2023/24
13. It is recommended that the dog registration
standard fee is increased by $3.00 to $100.00 per dog. It is also recommended
that the penalty for dogs that are not registered by 31 July continue to be set
at 50% of the standard fee.
14. The reasons for the recommended
increase in the standard fee are set out below.
15. To
meet Council’s Revenue and Financing Policy, the Animal Services Team are
required to earn, from fees and charges, 70-100% of the total cost of
delivering the services. The total Operating Expenditure for 2023/24 is $2,365,874,
as outlined in the Annual Plan. There are a range of fees and charges for the
Animal Services activity, including
stock control, infringements, and impounding fees but most of the revenue is
collected from dog registration fees.
16. As
dog registration fees income can only be used for dog related matters, the
costs associated with non-dog activity ($170,051) must be deducted from the
total operating expenditure when calculating the dog registration fee, leaving
total dog related expenses of $2,195,824.
17. The
non-dog activity is largely rate funded as there is little capacity to generate
income from this sector. Non-dog activity includes general stock control such
as pigs, goats sheep and also encompasses complaints relating to poultry, bees
and cats.
18. Based
on the presumption that 70% of the ‘total cost of delivering the
services’ is required to be earned by the Animal Services team (as
above), this means that the earnings need to be $1,537,077 (i.e. 70% of
$2,195,824).
19. It
is estimated that $155,250 will be collected from the other dog related fees
such as impounds and infringements, leaving $1,381,827 to be collected from dog
registrations.
20. We
project that we will have 16359 known dogs on the dog register by 30 June 2024.
Of these:
(a) 8 % won’t pay dog
registration because they are either fee exempt dogs, registered dogs that have
transferred to Tauranga or dogs that are in breach of the Act i.e. not
registered. Owners of unregistered dogs, where appropriate will either receive
a $300 infringement or the dog may be impounded.
(b) Of the remaining 15051 dogs:
(i) 5% will pay a reduced
registration fee because the dog turned 3 months of age during the registration
year, was imported into NZ or adopted and registered by the SPCA.
(ii) 85% will pay the standard
registration fee.
(iii) 10% will pay the late
penalty fee.
(c) The recommendation is to
increase the standard registration fees by $3.00 per dog to a total of $100.00,
therefore the penalty for those registering after 31 July would be $150.00.
(d) This equates to a total
revenue from dog registration of $1,407,236, covering the cost of delivering
the service as required.
Attachments
Nil
