​Ripponvale ratepayers given payment options

Ripponvale community ratepayers have been given a choice of how they would like to pay for the Ripponvale water scheme upgrade.

At the Central Otago District Council meeting at Alexandra on Wednesday 1 June, it was determined that ratepayers of this scheme, which was taken over by the Council in November 2020, could:

• Opt into a one-off payment for the scheme by way of a one-off capital contribution of $4,726 including GST. This will be payable either by a single instalment due August 2022, or over four quarterly instalments during the 2022-23 rating year (August 2022, November 2022, February 2023, and May 2023), or;
• Pay a 10-year targeted fixed rate of $602.57 including GST. This is the default position of all existing Ripponvale community that do not elect to accept the opportunity to pay the $4,726 during the 2022-23 rating year.

Consultation occurred earlier this year, with the payment options to be applied on 1 July 2022.

The Ripponvale Community Water Scheme agreed to pay half the $600,000 plus GST costs of upgrading the Ripponvale network to meet the New Zealand Drinking Water Standards, and minimum engineering standard requirements.

Members also agreed that existing properties on the scheme would have the option of paying their share of the $300,000 plus GST, by either a lump sum payment in the year one of the scheme or as a targeted rate . A letter will be sent to all members of this water upgrade scheme, confirming Council’s decision and will include an invitations to ‘opt in’ to the one-off payment.

Ripponvale was one of two capital funding plans, the other being the Clyde Wastewater Reticulation Scheme, that was approved, along with the adoption of the 2022-23 Annual Plan, and the fees and charges for 2022-23 financial year, at Wednesday’s Council meeting.