At midday on Wednesday 12 August 2020, our district moved into Alert Level 2. Auckland moved into Alert Level 3 at the same time, for at least three days.
Here's what this means for the Waikato district:
Last updated Thursday 13 August 2020
For the most up-to-date information about the New Zealand COVID-19 situation visit www.COVID19.govt.nz.
If you need help with financial assistance, please ring Work and Income on 0800 559 009.
If you are a foreign national in serious hardship due to COVID-19, and are looking for support, please phone 0800 733 276 which is 0800 REDCROSS.
If you are looking for information about police checkpoints visit www.police.govt.nz.
If you require social service support (food grants etc) please visit www.msd.govt.nz.
As a result of resourcing our Tuakau Library will be closed so that we can ensure the smooth running or our Tuakau Office. All other libraries and offices are still open.
Due to it's proximity to Auckland our Pukekohe pound will be closed, pick-ups by arrangement only.
Our Dogs in Libraries programme will also be cancelled for all libraries until further notice as 2 metre social distancing cannot be maintained during this activity.
All other council services will continue to run as normal for now.
Waikato DHB is opening additional COVID-19 testing facilities following high demand at the Claudelands Community Based Testing Centre.
The DHB is encouraging people with cold and flu symptoms to seek testing while those without symptoms are asked to contact Healthline or their GP for advice before seeking a test.
A mobile CBAC will be at Ngā Miro Health Centre in Ngaruawahia from 12-5pm today (13 August), then will move to Meremere Library on Friday, 14 August between 10am - 3pm.
The number of designated GP practices (which will provide COVID-19 assessment for people who are not registered with the practice) has also grown and includes:
Please call GP clinics to make an appointment prior to visiting.
For more information about testing visit the Waikato DHB website.
Rubbish and recycling collections are continuing in most areas however there are some changes to ensure our drivers and runners are safe so please place your waste and recycling to the kerbside in the following way.
All items are to be washed clean (wash it like you would your dishes) - this is due to our awesome contractors not being able to handle the items for their health and safety during this time.
Please put:
All transfer stations are still open.
Please ensure your wheelie bin lid is closed with the yellow tag on handle so our contractors can collect safely and without damaging bins. For our bag service, it is as normal with blue sticker for collection.
The monthly Glen Murray recycling drop off will be going ahead on September 5 (8:30am-12:30pm). View more details.
Raglan kerbside collections are continuing as normal. Visit the Xtreme Zero Waste website for more information.
Waikato District Council is committed to helping our communities run smoothly. We provide a range of services and facilities to the community and the rates you pay allow us to do this.
There are about 30,000 properties in the district on which rates are payable for maintaining 2,434kms of roads, 51 neighbourhood reserves, 43 sports parks, 12 skate parks, six libraries, three swimming pools, and for the planning, licensing and other services that the Council supplies. Our targeted rates also help cover assets like 31 water reservoirs, 10 water treatment plants, 9 wastewater treatment plants, 34 community halls, as well as the refuse services that we supply.
If you are experiencing hardship, please contact Waikato District Council by email to rates@waidc.govt.nz or phone 0800 492 452 to discuss and arrange a payment plan or apply for assistance through rates remission/rates rebate.
All our libraries/ service centres are open except for Tuakau Library which is now closed.
Hand sanitiser stations will still be available to use and QR code posters will be in place to help you contact trace.
We are still able to process new LIMs and Property Enquiries except where we cannot access physical records – so we will talk to those customers if they are affected. We can continue to receive Duty Planner enquiries but it will take us longer to get a response to customers.
We are still receiving and processing resource consents but these need to be lodged electronically to applications@waidc.govt.nz. We can continue to receive and will start processing 223 and 224 applications but these need to be lodged electronically to subdivisions@waidc.govt.nz
We will be working in a remote way from our homes, so things are likely to take a little longer. Please note that there are some activities staff will not be able to do.
We will talk to customers when their applications are affected by these limitations. We will be doing our best and taking work as far as we can but we cannot promise that all applications or enquiries with us will be issued or resolved over the lockdown period.
Bookings for inspections are now open. Our duty inspectors will not be available for face-to-face meetings but they are available by email or phone, however things may take a little longer than usual.
Get in touch with us:
On Wednesday 24 March Council approved an emergency decision-making processes to ensure that the Council can continue to make decisions throughout the COVID-19 pandemic Level’s 3 and 4.
Council adopted a ‘delegated decision making’ model to ensure that urgent decisions can be made, even if it is impractical for the usual number of Councillors to be physically present at the time of a decision.
The delegation model includes establishing an Emergency Committee comprising six elected members (Mayor Sanson, Deputy Mayor Bech and Councillors Gibb, Sedgewick, Smith and Patterson), with a quorum of just two members.
If it is impractical to convene a meeting of the Emergency Committee (as may be the case under COVID-19 Alert Level 4), the Council approved delegation to any two members of the Emergency Committee the powers, responsibilities and duties of the Council.
If the two delegated members are unable to exercise the delegated powers, the Chief Executive (or the Deputy Chief Executive if the Chief Executive is unavailable), in consultation with the Mayor (or Deputy Mayor if the Mayor is unavailable; or the relevant Committee Chairperson if the Deputy Mayor is unavailable; or the relevant Committee Deputy Chairperson if the Committee Chairperson is unavailable) is delegated the Council’s powers responsibilities and delegations.
Council voted that in event there is a legislative change to enable elected members attending via audio or audio-visual link to be counted as present for the purposes of the quorum, that Council’s standing orders be amended to give that effect.
Council also suspended all other committees and community boards of the Council.
The Chief Executive’s financial delegation was increased to $1.5 million to allow for unanticipated urgent expenditure. The Chief Executive would be required to report back to the Emergency Committee any exercise of this increased financial delegation.
Waikato District Council is operating under the COVID-19 Alert Level 2 guidelines, but is also preparing for any possible move in alert levels.
A report received by Waikato District Council’s Strategy and Finance Committee today clearly highlights the impacts of the COVID-19 lockdown on Waikato district businesses and the community.
The Hakarimata Summit Track, one of the Waikato’s most popular, has re-opened to the public.
A new Northern Emergency Operating Centre has been set up this week to provide a combined civil defence response as the country moves into Alert Level 2.
Moving to COVID-19 Alert Level 2 tomorrow allows for more freedoms and the opportunity to get out and about, however Waikato District Council and the Department of Conservation have made the decision to keep the Hakarimata Summit Track closed at this stage.
Waikato District Council community facilities will be open as soon as it is safe for our customers and staff to do so as we move into COVID-19 Alert Level 2.
Help has been provided to thousands of individuals and families across the north Waikato during COVID-19.
Waikato, we’ve been in Alert Level 3 for a week. Now is not the time to take our foot off the pedal.
A group of German tourists has thanked the Te Kauwhata community for the support they received while waiting for their flights out of New Zealand. They say they could not have chosen a better place for the lockdown.
With such great uncertainty during COVID-19, Waikato District Council is proud to be working in partnership with vital agencies in our communities to make sure they keep ticking over.
We’ve been at home in our bubbles for four weeks but it’s important to remember that while parts of the economy are opening up under COVID-19 Alert Level 3, that doesn’t mean our social lives can open up too.
The move to Alert Level 3 in New Zealand’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic is a welcomed stepping stone on the way to beating COVID-19 but it’s far from the end of the journey.
It’s business as usual and perhaps ground breaking, as Waikato District Council continues to hold its Proposed Waikato District Plan hearings during New Zealand’s Level 4 lockdown.
Waikato mayors say local councils and their partners have “turned over every possible stone” in their bid to secure government money to help rebuild the Waikato economy following Covid-19.
Waikato District Council Chief Executive Gavin Ion has taken a 20% pay cut for the next six months.
With Term 2 starting tomorrow, a bunch of Raglan Area School students now have the tools to learn thanks to help from Waikato district Civil Defence staff.
After less than two weeks of operation, the Waikato Freephone 0800 800 405 has already received hundreds of calls.
Waikato Mayors, Council Chief Executives, Members of Parliament, Iwi leaders and other regional powerbrokers met Monday [06 April] via video link.
Hamilton City Council and Waikato District Council have joined forces to operate a North Waikato Combined Emergency Operations Centre (NWCEOC) to co-ordinate community support during the Covid-19 National State of Emergency.
Freephone 0800 800 405 has been established for Waikato people struggling to get food, groceries, medication or other household goods and services.
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