The concerns led to the council commissioning an independent review of its animal control unit which resulted in a number of changes to dog policing policies and the operation of the Hastings pound.
The review was written by long-time Tauranga dog control specialist John Payne who started work at the Hastings council in January as a manager responsible for implementing the planned changes.
Mr Payne is also the architect of the proposed new fees and charges structure.
In a report on proposed changes, prepared for today's meeting, council staff say they are recommending the changes to keep dog fees at a "reasonable level and to reflect the enhanced animal welfare focus of the service based on the recommendations from the independent review".
Under the proposed changes, standard annual urban dog registration in the district would drop from $131.50 to $110.
The cost of registering a rural or working dog would increase from $46.50 to $48.00. Rural and working dogs comprise 51 per cent of the 11,793 dogs registered in the district.
The annual fee under the Selected Owner Policy would be unchanged at $73.50 and no new owners would be allowed to registration for the SOP scheme.
In his review last year, Mr Payne recommended abandoning the SOP scheme immediately, but in the new report, staff say that is "likely to create a negative reaction" from dog owners in the scheme who had paid an application fee to join on the assumption they would receive discounted registration over the next few years.
Hastings dog welfare advocate Jessica Maxwell said that while any fee reductions were welcome, SOP residents, who own 22 per cent of the district's dogs, would be the losers under the proposals.
"Dog owners taking up the SOP paid a processing fee in good faith believing that they would benefit from reduced registration fees for the life of their dog or for as long as they lived at the approved address," she said.
"When that fee was raised to $120 it took three years before owners got any benefit, so if council changes the rules and the SOP is dropped, that fee should be refunded."
Hastings Mayor Lawrence Yule said a review of dog fees had been promised as the next step after the council considered Mr Payne's report last year.
"People have been concerned about our dog regime, they've been concerned about the fees, and this is the last part of resolving all that.
"Importantly, what it would mean [if approved] is the majority of dog owners will pay less than what they currently do."
