Latest news with #WaterServicesDeliveryPlan
NZ Herald
9 hours ago
- Politics
- NZ Herald
Rotorua councillors debate wastewater discharge plans
The vote was divided into two sections, with the criteria and values of a working group to consider as well as the weighting of those values. Lee labelled the process 'overly complex and complicated' and any working group a 'recipe for disaster'. He suggested a simple solution existed, which was to drain treated wastewater into Puarenga Stream. He said this would be the 'cheapest solution' for ratepayers. Councillor Gregg Brown said that would be a 'pretty quick' way to end up in the Environment Court. Councillor Don Paterson then suggested the people of Ngapuna would be 'lighting torches and coming with pitchforks' should that be the plan. Councillor Don Paterson. Photo / Laura Smith Councillor Conan O'Brien insisted a complete consensus on the issue was unlikely, before Mayor Tania Tapsell emphasised a need to go 'above and beyond' to ensure all wastewater decision-making was made in the public eye. Councillor Lani Kereopa also expressed her concerns about the plan putting costs ahead of mana whenua engagement. She and Lee both voted against the criteria and values. Councillors were asked to vote on how to prioritise the outcomes the working group should focus on. One option gave more weight to financial and practical concerns, assigning 35% each to total lifecycle cost and implementation risk, while giving just 10% each to relationships with mana whenua, community acceptance and environmental outcomes. The alternative was to treat all five areas equally at 20% each. Most councillors supported the first option with the heavier weighting on cost and risk. However, Kereopa, Paterson and Trevor Maxwell voted against it, raising concerns that mana whenua engagement was being undervalued. Lee abstained. There was more heated debate as councillors confirmed the Water Services Delivery Plan. Puarenga Stream. Photo / Ben Fraser The plan, required by the Government's Local Water Done Well legislation, stated Rotorua would continue managing water services in-house until at least 2028. Meanwhile, the council would explore forming a joint water services organisation with neighbouring councils, then make a final service delivery model decision in 2027. Lee signalled an intention to abstain from voting, saying he was sceptical of the ability of a council-controlled organisation to deliver and of some wording around te ao Māori and mana whenua. He highlighted a recent agreement with Ngāti Kearoa-Ngāti Tuara over Karamū Tākina Springs, which supply 60% of the city's drinking water, saying it meant rates rises for constituents. Councillor Gregg Brown. Photo / Andrew Warner Despite their concerns about changes being forced upon them by central government, Lee's abstention was rebuked by Brown and O'Brien. 'For a mayoral candidate to sit on the fence is not great fella,' said Brown. 'Abstain? Come on. You've got all the information make a decision.' 'I won't be abstaining despite my concerns,' said O'Brien. 'Because I am here to make decisions. I believe that is why people put me here. Not just to blab, continue on and sit on the fence and not make a decision or follow principles.' Lee suggested abstaining was one of three voting options, along with yes and no. Tapsell said his voting options were yes or no and that abstaining was considered a non-vote. Rotorua Mayor Tania Tapsell. Photo / Laura Smith The mayor praised council staff for putting together a 'strategic document', which gave the council time and opportunity to decrease costs and ensure they make the right long-term decision. She then called out Lee for what she described as his 'continuing bashing of Māori and iwi'. Tapsell suggested the Karamū Tākina Springs agreement potentially saved a sum approaching $100 million. Lee's attempt to raise a point of order in response was shot down by Tapsell, who gave him one more chance to 'please be quiet' to allow the meeting to continue. The motion then carried, with Lee abstaining and Paterson voting against – believing it was unfair Rotorua be treated the same as other areas with poorer performing water systems. Tapsell and Lee previously confirmed to Local Democracy Reporting they would run for mayor in the October election. Mathew Nash is a Local Democracy Reporting journalist based at the Rotorua Daily Post. He has previously written for SunLive, been a regular contributor to RNZ and was a football reporter in the UK for eight years. - LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
Scoop
16-07-2025
- Business
- Scoop
Tauranga City Council Postpones Decision On Water Services Delivery
Tauranga City Council has postponed its decision to confirm a preferred delivery model for future water services. While Council was expected to make a decision on Monday, it opted instead to leave the report on the table to allow time for further discussions with the community prior to making a decision. The decision comes after Thames Coromandel District Council signalled it wished to progress alongside Tauranga City Council and Western Bay of Plenty District Council in a multi-council CCO at the end of April when Tauranga City Council's public consultation had already concluded. Tauranga City Council Mayor, Mahé Drysdale says Council has been very open to working with any Council that provides mutually beneficial outcomes. 'Western Bay of Plenty District Council has always been our preferred partner, but we have had conversations with a number of councils and worked through different scenarios. 'Off the back of that scenario modelling, we now have two councils that we could progress with, Western Bay of Plenty District Council, whom we consulted alongside in April, and more recently Thames Coromandel District Council.' 'The involvement of Thames Coromandel District Council is a relatively recent development and before making a decision, and moving to due diligence, we need to update our community about our potential new partner and ensure the community is fully informed,' Mahé says. 'Although a delay could compress the time required for submitting a Water Services Delivery Plan by 3 September, it is important that we get this right." 'We look forward to continuing to engage with all of our people and appreciate any feedback on how we can make Tauranga better.' A decision on Council's preferred delivery model is now expected on 5 August 2025. If a multi-council CCO was preferred, Council would also need to approve a Commitment Agreement, which would allow councils to work together and undertake a due diligence process that assesses a joint operating model. The establishment of any multi-council CCO would be subject to all parties being satisfied with the outcomes of the due diligence process, and any council could choose to withdraw if it was dissatisfied with its findings. Te Awanui Ward Councillor Hēmi Rolleston says it was appropriate to postpone the decision. 'This is one of the most important decisions this Council will make. Therefore, to leave this decision for a further three weeks is a practical decision, based on feedback from Iwi that they require more time, particularly with the relatively late inclusion of Thames Coromandel District Council.' Community event The Mayor and Councillors will be holding an information and Q&A session with the community about Local Water Done Well on Thursday, 24 July from 5-6pm at the University of Waikato in the Te Manawaroa Room. Free parking will be available from 4.30pm on the day at the council parking building on Spring Street. Notes: Local Water Done Well is the New Zealand government's plan to reform how water services are managed and to tackle the country's significant water infrastructure challenges. During public consultation in April 2025 a total of 726 people provided submissions addressing 'Why wai matters: Local Water Done Well', via council's online submissions form.
Scoop
15-07-2025
- Business
- Scoop
Ruapehu And Whanganui To Form Joint Water Services Entity
Ruapehu District Council (RDC) will join with Whanganui District Council (WDC) to form a two-council Water Services Council-Controlled Organisation (WS-CCO) to deliver future water services under the Government's Local Water Done Well reform programme. RDC had voted to support the two-council WS-CCO model at its meeting on 9 July, with the decision contingent on WDC confirming its preference to partner with Ruapehu. That confirmation came today, with WDC elected members voting 8–5 in favour of the joint model. Chief Executive Clive Manley welcomed the confirmation and said it was an important milestone that enables both councils to begin work on the detailed planning and implementation. 'This has been a long and complex process, and a significant amount of work has gone into getting us to this point,' said Mr Manley. 'Now that we have clarity and agreement from both councils, staff can progress the necessary steps to implement the new water services delivery model. Until we had confirmation of our partner council, there were key aspects we simply couldn't move forward on.' The immediate priority will be the development of a joint Water Services Delivery Plan (WSDP) with WDC. This plan must demonstrate how the proposed two-council WS-CCO meets the Government's legislative requirements - particularly around financial sustainability - and must be submitted to the Minister of Local Government for approval by 3 September 2025. 'Given ministerial approval of the WSDP, Council staff will be working closely with Whanganui to operationalise the new WS-CCO as quickly as possible,' said Mr Manley. 'The target is for the WS-CCO to be fully operational by mid-2027. In the meantime, water users in Ruapehu will continue to be serviced by our existing provider, Veolia, with no change to service levels.' Mr Manley noted that WDC had also voted to include stormwater services in the new WS-CCO. Ruapehu is still considering whether to transfer its stormwater services or retain them in-house. This decision will not impact the establishment of the WS-CCO. 'We'll make a decision on stormwater in due course, but it doesn't prevent us from moving forward with the rest of the WS-CCO implementation,' he said. Mr Manley added that this partnership builds on the strong history of collaboration between the two councils. 'This new water services partnership adds to a growing list of shared services between Ruapehu and Whanganui. Both councils are committed to continuing to explore opportunities that improve efficiency and reduce costs for our communities.'
Scoop
13-07-2025
- Business
- Scoop
Opinion: Let's Talk Rates
Rates invoices for the first quarter of the 2025/26 financial year will be landing in letterboxes and inboxes soon. In June, Horowhenua District Council adopted a rates resolution which signalled an average rate rise of 9.1% for 2025/26. This is lower than the 9.9% estimated in the Long-term Plan – evidence of our efforts to find savings wherever possible. It is still high though, and reflects the reality of the funding and financing crisis of local government. Nobody likes to hear rates are increasing, we get it, but balancing the wants and needs of the community with affordability remains a challenge. We are doing our best to provide a good balance as we strive to do what we said we would in the Long Term and Annual plans. Increased costs, Central Government reforms, and affordability pressures facing our communities mean it is as important as ever that we look for efficiency and effectiveness in everything we do. Just like when household costs rise and you might look at cancelling your Netflix subscription, cancelling a kids after school activity or putting some things back on the grocery shelf, here at Council the increased costs we face mean we have had to go through our budget with a fine-toothed comb and find savings. We take this very seriously, and over the last year have had to make some pretty challenging decisions off the back of some challenging conversations. Let's be clear though, the funding and financing system of Local Government is broken, and the affordability pressures on our communities means something has to give. We either need to reduce some of the services we're accustomed to, or enter a different conversation about the different ways in which we can fund and deliver the services our communities so dearly value. With our Annual Plan 2025/26 adopted and a decision made on Local Water Done Well in recent months, Council now has more clarity as we face an ever-changing future. On Wednesday 4 June, our elected members voted to join Palmerston North City Council and Rangitīkei District Council to deliver water services, as well as recognising Whanganui District Council and Ruapehu District Council as potential willing partners. The rising cost of providing water services is one of Council's biggest challenges, which is why partnering with other councils to gain economies of scale and mitigate the impact on our ratepayers is so important. This decision gives us clarity and opportunities to reduce costs including having our three waters debt shifted from our balance sheet, but the work has only just begun. Our focus now turns to developing a Water Services Delivery Plan with our new partners to ensure that our water infrastructure is safe, fit for purpose, affordable, and Horowhenua residents will continue to receive the same high level of water services delivery as they have become accustomed to. More than 85% of the rates increase this year can be attributed to the rising cost of water services. This is not the cost of providing new infrastructure for growth but the cost of continuing to supply our community with safe drinking water and dealing with wastewater and stormwater effectively and sustainably. That is why our urban ratepayers will see a rates increase higher than the average, but many of our rural ratepayers will see little increase, and in some cases a decrease, as most rural properties are not connected to council-owned water, wastewater or stormwater networks. When you receive your rates notice, take the time to understand your invoice more and drill into the detail of what you get for your rates. Reading a copy of our recently published Pre-Election Report is a great start. Please remember though, Council isn't just an institution. It's made up of people who live locally too. Many of us are ratepayers ourselves, and we do this work because we genuinely care about our district and want to help it remain a fantastic place to live, work, and play. Your rates invoice may feel like your only direct contact with Council, but every time you pour a glass of water, drive on a local road, or use your local library, you are able to do so because through your rates, you're helping to build your community. We will continue to look for savings while maintaining and improving our service delivery, because that's the least you deserve Horowhenua.
Scoop
08-07-2025
- Business
- Scoop
First New Water Services Entity Springs To Life
Selwyn has become the first water services entity to be established under the Government's Water Done Well legislation. Local Government Minister Simon Watts attended the formal launch of Selwyn Water Limited today with Mayor Sam Broughton, local MP Nicola Grigg, and company chair Murray Strong. Watts confirmed at the launch that the Secretary for Local Government, Paul James, had formally accepted Selwyn's Water Services Delivery Plan. Selwyn Water Limited will deliver drinking and wastewater services to around 30,000 households and over 8,000 businesses across New Zealand's fastest-growing region. Broughton said the formation of Selwyn Water marked a major milestone for the District. 'After years of talking about water reforms, we're pleased to have moved to give our residents certainty for the future of drinking and wastewater services. 'Selwyn Water will deliver services that enable community and business development and protect environmental health, it will manage its finances prudently and operate independently from rates.' The councillors had voted 6-5 to move the district's drinking and wastewater to a council controlled organisation (CCO). That decision has received plenty of pushback, with 89% of the submissions calling for the alternative in-house model. Broughton previously said those submissions represented 1% of the population. At the opening, he said most of the things that had been raised by submitters had been considered by the council's three waters subcommittee. 'The council decision was already around a preferred WSCCO to set us up for the future.' Established under the Government'sLocal Water Done Wellframework, Selwyn Water Limited is the first CCO of its kind. It combines public ownership with customer services expertise and will be governed by an independent board. Over the next six months, the council will transfer relevant assets, staff, and systems to ensure a seamless transition and continuity of service. In its annual plan, the council has budgeted around $11 million for the transition to the CCO. It had already budgeted, in November, $2m to support the proposed establishment of a CCO and development of the Water Services Delivery Plan. Selwyn Water chairperson Murray Strong noted that the utility is being built on a strong foundation. 'Selwyn Water will be a 'best in class' public utility company, aligned with Council and Government expectations and subject to oversight from the Commerce Commission and Taumata Arowai. 'Our flexible structure also allows for other councils to partner in future, creating efficiencies and further cost savings across districts.' Broughton was confident that any future amalgamation of services with other councils wouldn't require a new CCO. 'This has been set up and designed from the beginning to be able to shape and change itself, and morph into whatever the future requirements are for the districts that want to be a part of collaborating for Canterbury.' Selwyn MP Nicola Grigg welcomed the launch as a practical response to the community's growth and infrastructure demands. 'I'm very pleased to see the council move to enable this ownership model and look forward to Selwyn Water delivering high standards of service for our people.'
