Public toilets – what’s the cost?
One of the decisions that the Council is considering for this year’s Annual Plan, is how many public toilets does Hokitika need? The Annual Plan proposes to close the toilets on Tancred Street, which are getting past their useful life and the toilet at the Grey Power building. The toilets in the Cass Square pavilion will only be available for special events, as these have been replaced with the toilets next to the playground. Council does not own the toilets at Lazar Park, and any decision to open these to the public is for the owner to make.
There are 60 Council-owned toilet pans across the district available for public use. Public toilets are rated under the general rate, as these are considered to benefit ratepayers throughout the entire district.
In the 2023/2024 year, ratepayers invested $615,284 in Public Toilets. By rationalising the number of toilets in the Hokitika area, the Council aims to reduce the investment required from ratepayers. This investment includes cleaning grants to some communities, electricity, building repairs and maintenance, caretaking and cleaning costs (including consumables such as toilet paper) and depreciation.
Costs for the provision of public toilets over the past five years are shown below*. Between 2019/2020 and 2023/2023 the cost of public toilets has grown by 45%, but the number of pans has only increased by six! The cost per pan has increased from $7,041 in 2019/2020 to a budgeted $10,255 in the 2023/2024 year (this cost may change based on actual figures as at 30 June).
*Public toilets in the Pakiwaitara building and the library are available for public use and also incur cleaning and maintenance costs but these are not included in the above data.
Ratepayers have asked us to find ways to reduce the cost of their rates. Reducing the number of toilets that need to be cleaned and maintained in Hokitika township is one of the ways we can do this.
