Changes to skip charges in Dunedin is just another form of revenue gathering, affected businesses say.
Under changes being proposed by the Dunedin City Council, skip hire companies will have to pay an annual fee of $1800 instead of requiring members of the public to apply for a permit to place a skip or container on a road.
A meeting was held on Tuesday with skip companies and the council about the possible changes.
Otago Metals Skip Hire owner Graham Rollo said he felt the changes were unnecessary and were really just another form of revenue gathering by the council.
''We've never had a problem in the past 10 years of hiring out skips, so we support the status quo.''
Any fee would either have to be passed on to customers or absorbed by the company, Mr Rollo said.
''Skips are a very competitive market, so another cost on top of everything else - even if it is relatively small - impacts the business,'' he said.
Duffy's Waste Solutions owner Karen Olsen agreed it was another form of revenue gathering by the council.
''We've never had any complaints whatsoever, so why change something that is working?'' Mrs Olsen said.
Most people who hired a skip were unaware there was a need for a permit if they wanted to leave it on a suburban street for more than five days, she said.
Spaces where skips could be placed were declining with the changes to parking and installation of cycle lanes, and new restrictions would make the situation harder, she said.
''We pay enough for dumping at the tip and now we might have a new cost that we have to take up and put on to the clients. It's just money gathering.''
In a written statement, council compliance solutions manager Ros MacGill said changes to the way the council charged for skips use were discussed this week. At this stage, no decision has been made.
Further discussions would be held with skip and container operators before any changes took place, she said.
