By WAYNE THOMPSON
The Waitakere City Council last night passed the controversial flat fee for wastewater by seven votes to six.
Introduction of the uniform annual charge of $100 for each urban household means urban homes with a land value of $400,000 will pay $243 less in rates but a property valued at $60,000 will pay $17 more.
The new charge means that almost half the city's 27,669 homes will pay lower rates.
The chairwoman of the finance committee, Jenny Price said the flat fee was a simpler and fairer way to apportion sewer costs instead of the present rate based on property value.
People who drove flash cars paid the same litre price for petrol as those who drove modest ones.
"So why should you pay more for a basic service like wastewater, just because your property happens to be valued over $70,000?"
As they argued for the charge, Mrs Price and fellow Go Waitakere councillors Daphne Freeth, Don Chapman, Allen Davies, John Riddell, Bob Stanic and an independent, Assid Corban, were booed by members of the Citizens Against Privatisation.
The group's vice-president, Frank Clarke, told the meeting he had left his sick bed to accuse fee supporters of not acting with a sense of social responsibility for those who could not afford to pay more.
Councillor Derek Battersby said people felt user-pays charges had gone far enough. This charge would become a lever to make people pay full user charges for wastewater.
Mayor Bob Harvey said it was a sad day for democracy when the fee could be rammed through against the wishes of the people, simply because five councillors blocked the issue being put to the vote last month, because they were short on voting numbers.
If the charge is confirmed at the November meeting, it will affect the January rates instalment.
Waitakere adopts flat-fee wastewater charge
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