Yesterday, just a day before Melanie Tavendale and the new council were due to be sworn in, Local Government Minister Simon Watts announced the government would appoint a Crown facilitator to "assist" the council to rewrite its plan to address water reforms.
Mrs Tavendale yesterday told the Otago Daily Times the Waitaki District Council still needed to understand the implications of the announcement and determine how to respond.
"We haven’t obviously got an inducted council at the moment and we haven’t met as a group at this stage.
"So, our first step will be let’s work out, as a group, what that means for us and how we move forward from here.
"I guess the message is ‘We’re happy to find a way forward for Waitaki’."
The council’s previous Water Services Delivery Plan was set to cost households an extra $200 a month in water charges and sparked fears some ratepayers would lose their homes.
But earlier this month the plan was knocked back by the Department of Internal Affairs.
Mr Watts said yesterday former environment minister Amy Adams would be appointed to assist the council to amend and resubmit its water service delivery plan.
"I have considered my options and have decided to appoint a Crown facilitator, to assist the council to ensure its amended plan contains the information required to accurately assess the financial projections and overall financial sustainability of its plan."
The Secretary for Local Government had asked the council to amend its plan to include an assessment of "the current condition, lifespan and value of the district’s drinking water, wastewater and stormwater networks" as required under the Local Water Done Well legislation.
The government’s priority was for Waitaki ratepayers to have a plan that would ensure the costs of necessary water infrastructure upgrades were "fair, transparent, and do not lead to disproportionate rate increases".
As part of the government’s Local Water Done Well reforms, councils throughout New Zealand were required to submit a water services delivery plan to the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA).
The plans were a legislative requirement for councils to demonstrate how they would meet regulatory requirements, support growth and urban development, and ensure financial sustainability in the delivery of water services.
Waitaki backtracked on its initially preferred option of joining with Central Otago, Gore and Clutha district councils in the Southern Water Done Well group, which has since had a joint plan accepted by the government.
Waitaki councillors voted to go in-house to provide a water plan.
However, in Waitaki’s case, DIA officials earlier this month identified a range of other areas which the council should reconsider.
These included projected capital spending on infrastructure, the revenue required and the financial sustainability of the revised plan, based on a full asset review.
Both the Secretary of Local Government and Mr Watts said the council should consider alternative delivery options for its revised plan.
Mr Watts said in a letter to Waitaki, the facilitator could progress work the council has under way with Timaru District Council or "assist" the council to approach other neighbouring councils to explore collaboration there.
The council is now required to conduct an asset condition assessment and update its plan by June 30, 2026, allowing six months for the assessment and a further three months to amend the plan.
In a statement, council chief executive Alex Parmley said staff would "await direction from our newly elected council on our next steps".
The new council will meet on November 4.
