Proposed Redress Hits Carterton Council Table

Thursday, 27 February 2025, 10:21 pm
Article: Emily Ireland - Local Democracy Reporter

February 25, 2025

Historic “overcharges” to Carterton’s water race users are set to be addressed at Wednesday’s council meeting.

In 2021, the council’s funding model changed which left water races users paying 6% of the council’s total overhead charges each year.

Overheads are shared activity costs such as financial administration, information technology systems, rates billing, communications, senior management, and elected representative governance time.

The 6% share that water race users paid was disproportionate to the benefits they received from them and it was reduced to 2.6% last year, creating savings to water race users of about $220,000 that year.

At a recent water race committee meeting, member John McFadzean estimated that water race users had been overcharged almost $700k over the years the previous funding model was in force.

The water race committee has now recommended that council agree to fund the employment of an apprentice Water Race Overseer at no cost to the water race users for three years and further reduce overhead charges to water race activity by 50% for three years to make amends.

Members of the water race committee would identify suitable candidates for the apprentice position.

McFadzean said “at the end of the day, what we want is a resolution that is palatable to council and palatable to us”.

Water race committee members have been seeking redress for the “overcharges” for the past few years but Wednesday’s council meeting would be the first time a proposed way forward would be tabled to the full council.

For the redress to go ahead, it would need the support of a majority of elected members.

Of Carterton District Council’s nine elected members, four are members of the water race committee, including Mayor Ron Mark.

Mark said there was a “level of angst” in the issue and that he was “looking for a sweet spot where everyone is comfortable they have done the morally correct thing”.

“I have my gravest concerns about decisions made by previous management.

“What there is evidence of is that this [overcharge] isn’t right, it’s not fair.”

Chief executive Geoff Hamilton said the previous overhead allocation model was not “explicitly adopted” by the previous council in 2021, but the Long-Term Plan which was created with the model was.

The Carterton District contains two water race systems that total some 306km in length.

Water races are used primarily to supply drinking water to stock animals.

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