The August 2010 Bulletin encompasses the following topics:
Rates
Progress with District Plan
Buying property (and building department documents)
Fire Service testing the Marton Fire Hydrants
ICT Hub News
Rates
The deadline for the first rates instalment is coming up on 25 August 2010. It pays to come in before the deadline as it gets very busy at our offices during the final week of rates.
- If you’re having difficulty paying your rates, come and talk to us! Ratepayers who arrange a payment plan don’t incur late payment penalties
- Council offers a 2.5% discount to those ratepayers who pay the full year’s rates on the first instalment
- Establishing a direct debit for your rates is easy, and ensures that you will never miss the due dates for rates
- After 1 October, GST on rates will rise to 15%. Any rates you pay before this date will have GST at 12.5% (even if you pay your rates up until 30 June 2011).
Progress with the District Plan
The District Plan has been sent out to a number of stakeholders for their input. This will continue over the next couple of weeks as council officers meet with interested parties, and the draft plan is discussed by the District’s community boards and committees. A copy of the draft District Plan is available on the Council website. The Council is also awaiting the final determinations of the panel on Horizons One Plan due in late August, as the District Plan needs to be consistent with the regional plan and policy statements. Any changes required will be incorporated into the next draft.
Buying property (and building documents)
There have been a lot of changes to building consent processes over the last 20 years. If you are looking at purchasing a property, it can be difficult to know what building consent should be on the file. Detailed below are the consents that you should see on a property file, depending upon the year of construction/alteration.
Pre 1992 –a permit was needed from Council to be able to build. Once issued, a permit entitled the owner to build or have a structure built. There would normally have been inspections, but these would not necessarily have been recorded in any detail – unless something went wrong. And at the end of the project, there was no signing off. So a property file would have limited detail on works pre 1992.
1992-2004 – The system changed a little. During this period, more detailed plans were required, inspection details were better recorded and once the project was completed, a certificate was issued.
The certificate, a code of compliance certificate (CCC) was confirmation that the building work was completed to the level of the code. But it is worth noting that the certificate would only have been issued if Council staff had been called to conduct a final inspection.
2004+ - The 2004 changes were significant. The process was for plans to be assessed against the Building Code before consent was granted to proceed. The details recorded at inspections increased and again a CCC issued, once Council was notified that the works had been completed.
During the life of a building, there may be multiple permits and consents. The documents associated with these will be varied in both detail and quality, depending on date of application and issue.
It is worth remembering that these documents - like a car’s warrant of fitness - are only a snapshot in time and may not fully relate to the building’s current status.
When planning a property purchase, have your legal professional check the ‘paper trail’, but you may like to balance this by having a competent person inspect the property on your behalf.
Fire Service testing the Marton Fire Hydrants
The Fire Service will be undertaking hydrant flow and pressure testing over the next few weeks. They intend to start by 11 August, weather permitting and will begin on the western side of town. Council officers expect to receive a few dirty water calls as a result. Advice to callers will be to flush your bath tap until it clears, or for 10 minutes. If the water is still dirty then ring us and one of the reticulation staff will investigate.
ICT Hub News
The latest milestone with the ICT Hub project is that managers have been appointed to both the Marton and Ratana computer facilities. Angela Coleman will be taking over in Marton from Travis White, the Community Development Officer and Puawai Hagger has been appointed for Ratana. Angela will be available for 20 hours per week (behind the library in the old Civil Defence room) from 13 September and Puawai is currently available for 20 hours per week. Puawai can be contacted at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or 027 231 9050 and at this stage, Angela can be contacted via the Rangitikei District Council on 06 327 0099.
