Recreation charges face 15.9% rise

Press, 4 February 1987, Page 9

Recreation charges face 15.9% rise

By

GARY BIRKETT

The Christchurch City Council’s parks and recreation committee yesterday approved an average 15.9 per cent increase in recreation charges to be effective from April 1.

The increase includes GST and takes into account the increases being negotiated in award rates and the increased cost of servicing recreation charges.

Councillors yesterday waded through the list of increased charges and after some minor finetuning they were approved for recommendation to the council.

The committee’s chairman, Cr Clive Cotton, and officers of the department will meet the principal users of the council’s sports grounds and facilities to'discuss the proposed increases before the charges are referred to the council for ratification.

Among the fine-tuning was the holding of camping fees at Rawhiti Camping Ground at the same level as 1986.

Cr Noala Massey said the camping ground was in urgent need of improvement and the proposed increases were not justified.

She urged councillors to inspect the area to see for themselves. Cr Cotton said that major expenditure was planned for Rawhiti in the next parks and recreation budget and said the increases were only modest However, the vote favoured holding the camping fees at the same level, by 5-3. Admission charges for children to Queen Elizabeth II Park pool were also held at 60c instead of the proposed increase to $l. To partly compensate, adult single admission charges were increased from $2 to $2.20 instead.

of being held at $2. Cemetery fees will be increased an average 20 per cent as a means of reducing the operating deficit of cemeteries to a more realistic level. The proposed increases should reduce the general operating deficit to under 40 per cent of expenditure. According to an officer’s report it is also proposed that over the next few years cemetery fees be progressively increased to further reduce the deficit

The basic cost of purchase and interment of an adult in a single plot will rise from $305 to $365.