LGOIMA Request Details: LG2507
Date received: 23/08/2026
Requested information: Animal Control Funding - A request for detailed information regarding the funding of Animal Control activities by Manawatū District Council, and the current intended funding split for the 2026/27 financial year.
Status: Complete
Date responded: 11/09/2026
Response:
The information you have requested is below
1. Total Animal Control expenditure
Please provide the total operating expenditure for Animal Control for each financial year, including any significant capital expenditure where relevant.
Response:
• 2023/24 - $799,686
• 2024/25 - $774,538
• 2025/26 - $778,808
• 2026/27 budget/forecast - $868,279
2. Funding sources
For each year, please provide:
• total revenue received from dog registration fees.
• total revenue received from other Animal Control fees and charges.
• total amount of Animal Control expenditure funded through general rates.
• any other funding sources used to fund Animal Control.
Please provide both dollar amounts and percentages where available.
Response:
• 2023/24 - total revenue received from dog registration fees : $459,843
• total revenue received from other Animal Control fees and charges : $55,112
• total amount of Animal Control expenditure funded through general rates : $334,719
• any other funding sources used to fund Animal Control : $nil
(Funding split 60% Fees and Charges, 40% General Rates)
• 2024/25 - total revenue received from dog registration fees : $493,629
- total revenue received from other Animal Control fees and charges : $42,130
• total amount of Animal Control expenditure funded through general rates : $154,368
• any other funding sources used to fund Animal Control : $nil
(Funding split 80% Fees and Charges, 20% General Rates)
• 2025/26 - total revenue received from dog registration fees : $514,153
- total revenue received from other Animal Control fees and charges : $49,706
- total amount of Animal Control expenditure funded through general rates : $187,079
- any other funding sources used to fund Animal Control : $nil
(Funding split 80% Fees and Charges, 20% General Rates)
• 2026/27 budget/forecast - total revenue received from dog registration fees : $607,579
• total revenue received from other Animal Control fees and charges : $97,367
• total amount of Animal Control expenditure funded through general rates : $176,236
• any other funding sources used to fund Animal Control : $nil
(Funding split 80% Fees and Charges, 20% General Rates)
3. Public benefit / private benefit allocation
Council's Revenue and Financing Policy identifies Animal Control as having a public benefit/private benefit allocation.
Please provide:
• the current policy allocation between public and private benefit.
• the methodology used to determine that allocation.
• any supporting report, assessment, analysis or calculation used to establish the allocation.
• details of any changes to the allocation since 2023/24.
Response: see Revenue and Financing Policy 2024-2027 in the link provided
4. Application of the public/private funding split
Please provide any financial calculations, models, reports or other documents showing how the public/private benefit allocation has been applied to the actual funding of Animal Control for each of the requested years.
In particular, I would like to understand how the portion identified as providing a public benefit is funded through general rates and how the portion identified as providing a private benefit is recovered from dog owners or other users.
Response: see Revenue and Financing Policy 2024-2027 in link
Dog registration fees and Animal Control funding
Council’s dog registration fees form part of the funding of its Animal Control activity.
The Local Government Act 2002 (the Act) requires Council to have a Revenue and Financing Policy (policy). A Revenue and Funding Policy outlines how we fund operational and capital expenditure.
Under Council’s Revenue and Financing Policy, the Animal Control activity has an indicative funding mix of 80% from user fees and charges and 20% from the Uniform Annual General Charge (UAGC). User fees and charges include dog registration fees, and impoundment fees. The policy can be found here: Policies | Manawatū District Council
The rationale for the funding approach set by Council is that the wider community benefits from being protected from dangerous and wandering animals, and therefore 20% of the activity is funded through the Uniform Annual General Charge.
At the same time, animal owners are responsible for managing their animals and should meet the majority of the costs associated with the activity. Accordingly, 80% is funded through user fees and charges, including registration, impoundment and infringement revenue.
The 80% funding allocation does not mean that an individual dog registration fee is calculated by applying an 80% formula to a particular service provided to that dog owner. Rather, it represents Council’s overall funding approach for the Animal Control activity, recognising that a significant proportion of the costs of the activity should be met by those who use or give rise to the service, while a proportion is funded more broadly in recognition of the public benefit provided by animal control activities.
5. Dog registration fee calculation
Please provide the calculation, financial model, report or other documentation used to determine the dog registration fees for:
• 2024/25;
• 2025/26; and
• 2026/27.
Please include the rationale for the current standard registration fee and any assumptions used in determining the amount.
Response:
• 2024/25;
See link provided for Fees and Charges 2024_25
• 2025/26;
See link provided for Fees and Charges Adoption of Animal Control Fees and Charges 2025_26
• 2026/27.
See link provided for Report – Fees and Charges 2026_27 - Adoption
Dog registration fees are set through Council’s annual budgeting and fees and charges process, taking into account the anticipated cost of delivering the Animal Control activity.
In addition, section 9 of the Dog Control Act 1996 provides:
“All money received and retained by a territorial authority under this Act shall be expended only for purposes authorised by or under this Act.” Dog Control Act 1996
The registration fee therefore contributes towards the overall costs associated with Council carrying out its functions and responsibilities under the Dog Control Act. This includes the administration of the dog registration system, maintaining registration records and providing the required dog registration information to the relevant central government database administered by MCERT, as well as the wider costs of delivering dog control services such as compliance, monitoring, responding to complaints, roaming and dangerous dog matters, enforcement and impoundment activities.
The registration fee therefore does not represent solely the administrative cost of processing an individual dog registration. It contributes towards the overall cost of Council delivering its statutory dog control functions.
6. Cost of registration versus wider Animal Control
Please provide any information held by Council that identifies or distinguishes:
a. the cost of registering and maintaining the registration of an individual dog; and
b. the costs of wider Animal Control activities that provide a broader community benefit.
If Council does not separately account for these costs, please confirm that this information is not separately held.
Response:
Council does not calculate or hold a specific cost representing the standalone administrative cost of registering an individual dog.
Under section 37 of the Dog Control Act 1996, territorial authorities may prescribe reasonable fees for the registration and control of dogs. In setting different classes of registration fees, the Act also requires Council to have regard to the relative costs of registration and control associated with those classes of dogs.
Accordingly, a dog registration fee is not based solely on the administrative cost of processing an individual registration. The fee contributes towards the broader costs of Council carrying out its dog control functions under the Dog Control Act.
These costs include activities such as maintaining dog registration records and the National Dog Database, animal control staffing and operations, responding to complaints and incidents, investigations and enforcement, monitoring, education, and other activities associated with the registration and control of dogs.
When setting its fees and charges, Council considers the overall cost of delivering the animal control activity, anticipated revenue from registration and other fees, and the appropriate allocation of costs between users of the service and general ratepayers.
Council therefore does not hold a calculation identifying the cost of registering one individual dog as a discrete transaction. The registration fee reflects a contribution towards the wider costs of registration and dog control, consistent with section 37 of the Dog Control Act 1996.
7. Public-good activities
Please provide the annual cost, where separately identifiable, of activities considered to provide a public benefit, including but not limited to:
• public education;
• responding to complaints;
• responding to roaming dogs;
• responding to dangerous or nuisance dogs;
• enforcement;
• patrols of public areas, reserves, parks and sports fields;
• maintaining public safety and community amenity; and
• any other Animal Control activity Council considers to provide a public benefit.
Please also identify what proportion of these costs is funded through general rates versus dog registration fees or other user charges.
Response:
Annual costs as listed above are not separately identifiable
All costs go towards the operation. The Animal Control activity has an indicative funding mix of 80% from user fees and charges and 20% from the Uniform Annual General Charge (UAGC). User fees and charges include dog registration fees, and impoundment fees. The policy can be found here: Policies - Manawatu District Council
The rationale for the funding approach set by Council is that the wider community benefits from being protected from dangerous and wandering animals, and therefore 20% of the activity is funded through the Uniform Annual General Charge.
8. Fee-setting decisions
Please provide copies of any Council reports, staff reports, committee papers, financial assessments, consultation documents or other supporting information considered when setting or reviewing dog registration fees for 2025/26 and 2026/27.
Response:
Please refer to link below for your reference
2025/26
See in link provided -10.2 Fees and Charges_Adoption of Animal Control Fees and charges 2025_26
2026/37
See in link Report – Fees and Charges 2026_27 – Adoption
9. Review of the funding model
Please provide any documents or information showing whether Council has considered:
• increasing the proportion of Animal Control funded through general rates;
• reducing the proportion recovered through dog registration fees;
• changing the public/private benefit allocation; or
• reviewing whether the current funding model remains equitable.
If Council has not considered any of these matters, please confirm this.
Response:
The Council considers all the above mentioned annually when reviewing Fees & Charges as well as making sure that registration fees set, reflect a contribution towards the wider costs of registration and dog control, consistent with section 37 of the Dog Control Act 1996.
10. Current position
Finally, please confirm Council's current intended funding split for Animal Control for the 2026/27 financial year, expressed both as a percentage and dollar amount between:
• general rates/public funding; and
• dog registration fees and other private/user funding.
The Animal Control activity has an indicative funding mix of 80% from user fees and charges and 20% from the Uniform Annual General Charge (UAGC). User fees and charges include dog registration fees, and impoundment fees.
See the Revenue and Financing Policy 2024-2027 in the link provided
• general rates/public funding; 20% - $176,236
• dog registration fees and other private/user funding: 80% - $704,946
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To protect your privacy, we will not generally publish personal information about you, or information that identifies you.
If you wish to discuss this response with us, please feel free to contact the LGOIMA Response Team on 06 323 0000 or by replying to this email.
Yours sincerely,