We recently sought ratepayer feedback on the use of the Infrastructure Funding and Financing Act 2020 (IFFA) to finance the development of the proposed new wastewater sludge minimisation facility (SMF) at Moa Point.

A total of 42 submissions were received. Read the feedback summary here.

The new facility will dramatically reduce volumes of sludge being disposed of at the Southern Landfill - by more than 80% - and allow Wellington to get on with reducing general waste to landfill and the associated greenhouse gas emissions.

We received a mandate for this project to be financed by the IFFA in our Long-Term Plan (LTP) consultation in June 2021. The IFFA applies a levy on beneficiaries (in this case ratepayers subject to general rates) to pay the cost of financing over time.

We invited both residential and commercial ratepayers to provide their feedback on the following updated levy rates that will support repayment of the IFFA loan over time

The suggested levy is based on the latest Capital Values (CVs) and a proposed cost split of 60% residential ratepayers and 40% commercial ratepayers (which is consistent with existing wastewater charging policy).

We asked for feedback on the estimate of the levy cost in the first year, as set out in this table.

Capital value	IFF levy - Year 1 range ($ p.a)
Residential1	Low	High
CV $250k	$25.16	$34.83
CV $500k	$50.33	$69.66
CV $750k	$75.49	$104.49
CV $875k	$88.07	$121.90
CV $1m	$100.65	$139.31
CV $2m	$201.31	$278.63
Commercial2	Low	High
CV $500k	$163.75	$226.63
CV $1m	$327.49	$453.27
CV $2m	$654.98	$906.53
CV $2.75m	$900.60	$1,246.48
CV $5m	$1,637.45	$2,266.33
CV $10m	$3,274.91	$4,532.66
CV $25m	$8,252.77	$11,422.31

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1The estimated rates value for residential is based on billing category A1.
2The estimated rates value for commercial is based on a mixture of billing categories (including industrial, recreational, retail, utilities, transport etc).

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Find out more about the sludge minimisation project here.