At yesterday’s Central Otago District Council meeting, councillors voted unanimously that their preferred way of delivering water services was through a joint water services council-controlled organisation (CCO) in conjunction with Waitaki, Gore and Clutha district councils.
That decision would go to the public for consultation early next month along with two other options - using an in-house business unit, which was how water services were delivered now, or a stand-alone council-controlled organisation, without joining forces with the other three councils.
Council chief executive Peter Kelly said continuing to run water services in-house was not an option for Central Otago.
It did not have the staff and they had been warned monitoring in the future would be ‘‘intensive and intrusive’’.
‘‘Let’s dispel the myth we can carry on as we are.’’
Councillor Tracy Paterson asked why, if that was the case, the status quo option was included in the consultation document.
‘‘We’ve been told by [the] government the status quo is not an option but we have to take that to consultation.’’
Mr Kelly said it was required by legislation.
Council water services manager Julie Muir said there were about 20 councils in the country which could run water services in-house. Central Otago was not big enough and could not borrow enough money to fund what was going to be required.
Central Otago District Mayor Tamah Alley said a joint CCO did not mean any amalgamation between the councils or water infrastructure being owned by anyone other than the Central Otago council.
Ms Muir said the councils would own the entity managing water services and the entity would own the assets.
Cr Nigel McKinlay asked about the impact on council costs of removing about one-third of council assets to the water entity, leaving two-thirds to fund the council’s running costs.
Morrison Low consultant Stuart Cross, who had been engaged by the four councils, said the new water entity should be able to procure some services from the council, and pay for them, and would also pay rates on its assets.
Cr Sally Feinerman asked if the proposed $13.8 million to establish the CCO was realistic when they had been told it was simple process.
Mr Cross said half of the cost was for an asset management system to be used across all participating councils, which at the moment all ran different systems.
Ms Muir said cost savings would come from improved productivity and procurement savings, not staffing levels.
Legislation required councils to have infrastructure available for growth and she expected the CCO would deliver capital projects faster than the council could.
Mrs Alley said it removed politics from water. Decisions would be made by a competency-based board and not on which community shouted the loudest.
