Gympie council releases new fees and charges for 2022

Gympie councillors are expected to sign off on a raft of new fees and charges covering local dumps, swimming pools, dog registrations and development costs on Wednesday.

Gympie residents can expect to pay more at the dump as waste facility fees continue to creep up in the 2022 proposed overhaul of council fees and charges.

Under the new fees expected to be adopted by councillors at Wednesday’s meeting, residents of the region who drive a carload of trash to the dump will be charged $7.

This was up 30c on the price charged in 2021.

A single axle or trailer-load will now cost residents $25, a hike of $5.

Large trailer loads will still cost $41.

People from outside the region wanting to dump their rubbish in Gympie will also pay more.

A carload of rubbish will remain at $10, but a small trailer-load will rise from $35 to $40 and a large trailer-load will rise from $67 to $75.

The cost of using the region’s tips continues to creep up with residents to be charged $7 for a car load of rubbish under proposed new gate fees.

Those looking to dump a car load of clean timber will feel pain in their wallets with the price to be hiked from $3.30 to $10, while a large trailer-load will jump from $22 to $30.

The staff report says this would bring them in line with what neighbouring councils charge.

New dog owners will be digging deeper into their wallets too.

The cost of newly registering a desexed and microchipped dog will be increased from $1 to $12, while the renewal fee will drop from $15 to $12.

Registering a dog without either of those caveats will rise from $149 to $153, while pensioners will pay half that.

Developers will also be on the hook for more under the new charges.

A number of development application fees will be significantly increased, if they are adopted by councillors at Wednesday’s meeting.

Application fees to build a dual occupancy home will almost double from $1270 to $2300.

Commercial developments including offices, shops and showrooms, hardware stores and bulk landscape suppliers will now attract a fee of $4875 for each application.

This was a significant hike on 2021’s cost of $3175, with those with more than 250m sq in gross floor space drawing an additional $8 charge for every extra square metre above that threshold.

Wind farms and renewable energy facilities larger than 1ha will attract an application fee of $17,500, up from $13,205.

The report says these changes will now reflect the cost of the workload required to process those applications.

Community groups will get a break on hiring venues for daylong events.

Subdivision fees are to be raised for the same reason, from a minimum of $1585 to $2385.

Groups looking for a function room to host daylong events will be winners under the changes.

The cost of hiring the stadium at the Showgrounds for a commercial non-sports event between 6am and midnight will drop from $2340 to $1856, while the fee for community non-sports events will be cut from $1560 to $1232.

Commercial groups who want to hire the entire pavilion will pay more, up from $3500 to $3799, but community groups will get a break with the fee cut from $2800 to $2482.

Similar cuts are proposed for the cost of hiring the Civic Centre, with community groups getting a larger break than commercial ones.

The changes to the council’s fees and charges are part of the council’s work to delivering its budget, which is expected to be brought down at the end of June.

Originally published as Gympie council releases new fees and charges for 2022