What to do with Pukehina’s waste water fund?

The Pukehina Development Rate was collected for 22 years from 2000.

The current balance of the fund is $528,053 and the council’s preferred option in its Long-Term Plan 2024-2034 is to permanently stop collecting the rate and repurpose the money already collected for existing projects in the Pukehina community.

The future of the Pukehina Development Rate was a key proposal for the Annual Plan 2022/23 - at the time the council received 141 submissions, and 30 per cent of people said they would like collection to stop, while 20 per cent supported keeping it, 31 per cent said they would like to see it repurposed for recreational purposes and 18 per cent wanted it to be paused for two years.

“There is a lot of uncertainty around when, or if, a wastewater scheme will be needed for Pukehina,” says council’s general manager, infrastructure services Cedric Crow.

“A scheme may be needed at some point, at a cost of $30-$40 million, but we don’t expect it will be needed in the next 10 years.

“If we are not going to build a wastewater scheme in Pukehina then we shouldn’t keep collecting this rate. We think our preferred option reflects what we’ve heard previously and will see the community benefit from the money they have contributed.”

Other options are to restart the rate, or continue to pause it until there is more certainty around the future of wastewater.

If it were to be stopped permanently, other options for the money already collected are a credit or cash refund to properties in Pukehina Beach of around $835.50 per property, repurposing the money for septic tank cleaning over the next three years, or retaining the money for a future wastewater scheme.

However, there are significant challenges with refunding the money or redirecting it to septic tank cleaning, including the time it could take to administer these options, says Cedric.

“Using the Pukehina Development Rate funds for community projects will provide real benefits now. But we want to hear from residents to make sure this plan works for everyone.”

Visit the council’s website for details on how to have your say.

The period for submissions to be submitted closes at 5pm on June 17.