Council Recognises Ratepayer Concerns Around 3 Waters Reform Proposals

Mayor Don Cameron said that Council was very aware of the desire for more information from the community on 3 waters reform and the opportunity for people to have their say.

"While there is information available on official websites such as threewaters.govt.nz, dia.govt.nz and lgnz.co.nz there are also many details on key issues that are still to come out," he said.

"The Department of Internal Affairs has provided some information specific to Ruapehu's situation that Council is still working through to assess its impact on us and the community.

We have until the end of September to provide feedback to Government who will then consider next steps, including the process, and revised timing, for any consultation and decision-making.

Because of the community interest and calls for consultation the local government sector sought advice from Simpson Grierson as to whether councils should consult with their communities before this.

The firm advice was that this would be premature and that we should spend this time fully understanding all the data and information so we can best advise and consult with the community when more complete information is at hand."

Mayor Cameron noted that Council understood that some other councils were seeking community views on the 3 waters reform however all councils are at different points in the process and evaluation of their specific offer from Government.

"While we have decided not to consult on the proposed reforms just yet we have been talking with our community for a number of years on the issues we face as a small rural council in delivering higher water compliance standards.

The 2018/28 Long Term Plan highlighted our growing rate affordability challenges linked to water which resulted in the move to district wide water rates.

In this respect the Government's reform proposals can be seen as a move to multi-regional wide water rating to address the same ever growing affordability issues.

It is also worth noting that while Government is currently giving councils the ability to opt out of the reform process this may well change if some of the larger councils pull out.

The benefits of the reforms are predicated on gaining economies of scale and if larger councils pull out these could be lost.

What is widely accepted across the local government sector on both sides of the debate is that change to the current way of funding and delivering 3 waters services is needed.

We believe the best process is for Council to continue to work with government on clarifying the remaining issues such as how to ensure the local voice is heard in decision making and clarity on the ownership of the assets before we commence a community consultation process.

Assuming this is still an option after government has decided on their next steps," he said.

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