Changes by central government mean as well as consulting on the council’s long-term plan — which sets the direction and influences budgets for the next nine years — water services and their delivery also have to go to the community for consultation about the same time.
Councils are required to develop and submit water services delivery plans by September, showing how they will meet the government’s requirements for financial sustainability, environmental responsibility, and customer affordability for water services, as required under Southern Water Done Well.
Tomorrow, the council will hold an extraordinary meeting to decide if it will adopt the long-term plan consultation document. If that happens, it will be open for community feedback until April 28.
Included with the LTP document are two options for water — to form a council-controlled organisation (CCO) that would begin operations in July 2027 or the status quo with services managed in-house. The council could form a CCO on its own or with other councils. The organisation would be owned by the council or councils.
Central Otago had been working with Gore, Clutha and Waitaki district councils, and Timaru had indicated it would join a potential CCO.
Water services would be part of both the LTP consultation beginning at the end of the month and a specific water services consultation in early May.
Council chief executive Peter Kelly said it was unfortunate timing having to have the water services consultation hard on the heels of the LTP consultation but it was necessary because of the work required to submit a water services delivery plan by the September 3 deadline.
"It impacts on all five participating councils to varying degrees
"People have the opportunity to have their say, in both their council’s LTP and in the wider Southern Water Done Well consultation. Hopefully, this will increase their understanding; for instance, maintaining water delivery services comes at a higher cost and would impact other parts of council’s functions to the detriment of other council services.
"Doing a thorough consultation gives people a voice, and means we can gauge, at both a local and regional level, how the community feels about the changes to how we will need to be delivering water services in the future, while meeting economic, environmental, and regulatory requirements."
The council will be holding information and drop-in sessions for the LTP consultation around the district from April 2-17, and an online session on April 22.
