Federated Farmers is urging the Otago Regional Council to properly ''explain themselves'' to ratepayer farmers who are facing ''huge increases'' in rates and consent costs this year.
Federated Farmers Otago provincial president Stephen Korteweg said the ORC needed to be held to account on its Long Term Plan consultation document.
This was ''severely lacking in reasoning'' for the major increase in farmer rates, and rural ratepayers had been ''blindsided'' by the planned rises.
The council was proposing ''a heap of big changes'', such as new targeted rates for water monitoring and dairy monitoring and significant increases in consent fees. And all of this would mean ''increased costs for farmers'', which, for many, would amount to thousands of dollars..
''Federated Farmers doesn't object to increases in rates when they are transparent and fair, but the council has given no heads-up to ratepayers that these major increases were coming and has not consulted the public on these changes.
''Instead, they've chosen to hide behind a 20-page consultation document that barely mentions the increase, let alone explains the who, what, where, how and why of it,'' Mr Korteweg said.
Farmers needed to pay ''their fair share of the costs of monitoring and protecting'' the region's waterways, but the consultation document provided little explanation of ''what the drivers for these costs are, and how the money is being spent''.
Federated Farmers had been encouraging the ORC to engage in an ''informed debate'' but more information was needed and he welcomed it ''to reach out to us''.
ORC chairman Stephen Woodhead said the ORC had a good working relationship with Federated Farmers, and he would be contacting Mr Korteweg to take up the suggestion to ''reach out'' over the matter.
Mr Woodhead said the ORC had been open about its consultation. A press release sent out last month had outlined the proposed budgetary moves and charges, and a copy had also been sent to Federated Farmers.
The ORC had begun its consultation process and was continuing with a series of public consultation meetings, having already held three, including one in Dunedin, this week.
And a letter had been sent out to ORC rural ratepayers this week, also outlining the proposed budgetary changes and charges.
Mr Woodhead said water quality programmes were a key part of the 10-year plan and the overall water quality work was estimated to cost $2 million in the financial year starting on July 1. He said the proposed spending was being split fairly.
The money would come from ORC reserve funds ($400,000), all ORC ratepayers (about $750,000) and some rural landowners ($813,000).
Mr Woodhead said there were two key drivers of efforts to maintain or improve freshwater quality.
The Government's national policy statement on freshwater management required quality to be maintained or improved, and Otago residents had told the ORC rivers and waterways were expected to be of ''swimmable'' quality.
