Two submitters argued against proposed changes in the council's 2008-09 draft annual plan before Crs Doug Brown, David Shepherd, Duncan Butcher, Michael Deaker and Stephen Cairns in Alexandra yesterday.
Tony Lepper, of the Earnscleugh Irrigation Company, said the council should continue using general rates to pay consent and compliance administration fees.
The ORC is proposing to split the payment so 50% is taken from general rates and 50% is paid for by consent holders.
It will result in a large bill for water user companies and a 5.4% decrease in the public's annual general rate if implemented.
Mr Lepper said companies already paid for their consents, and the cost of administration and compliance was for the greater public's good and therefore should be paid for by general rates.
"The information gained [by compliance] is used widely by the ORC and the public and is no benefit to us.
"We believe we pay more than our share and that the public should continue to pay through the general rate."
John Williamson, of the Otago Water Resource Users Group, said the fees should remain as they are - fully paid from the general rate - unless companies did not comply with ORC requirements.
He said the council considered imposing the 50/50 charge scheme in 2006, when it first heard submissions on its proposed long-term council community plan for 2006-16.
Mr Williamson said the council was unjustified in proposing the scheme after it had been strongly opposed and "thrown out" two years ago.
"It smacks in the face of natural justice for the council to be revisiting this issue when there has been no change in circumstances from when the proposal was first discarded. It displays a total disregard for the 2006 submission process and consequential decision, and appears to be an attempt to wear down the opposition," he said.
Cr Butcher said he hoped there would be more submissions on the issue, which presented such a change.
In its proposed draft annual plan, the council stated it received about 1000 consent applications each year and the cost of processing them had increased by $262,000 from what was provided for in the 2006-16 long-term council community plan.
