Joint waters entity between Hamilton and Waikato District councils the preferred option
Saturday, 14 December 2024
Hamilton and Waikato District councils both want to join forces for water services.
City councillors voted in favour of it on Thursday, followed by district councillors making the same decision the next day.
So a team of two will be the preferred option when the councils present the choices for public consultation.
However, the door remains open to eventually link up with councils pursuing a regional entity under Waikato Waters Done Well.
Waikato District Council’s meeting on Friday was attended by several interested parties including Hamilton mayor Paula Southgate.
Councillors were also presented with two options aside from the joint council controlled organisation (CCO) with Hamilton City Council. They were: joining Waikato Waters Done Well, or continuing with the status quo of contracting a service provider such as Watercare.
When Waikato District staff recommended the CCO at Friday’s meeting, they outlined the benefits of a tight-knit relationship and a faster road to getting the entity operational.
Although both a CCO with Hamilton and the option of a regional one scored well in each evaluation area, the district council’s chief financial officer Alison Diaz said uncertainty was a big factor.
Bigger was perhaps better, Diaz said, but also riskier.
“At the moment we have a close relationship with both parties. One thing we can’t address at the moment is what the appetite is of each individual council to actually join the regional CCO,” Diaz said.
“So there are more certainty aspects to the Hamilton and Waikato District proposal.”
Elected members of the Waikato District shared their preference for the CCO with Hamilton, and many expressed a keenness to eventually join a wider entity.
“I firmly believe that not too far in the future we will all be a large regional CCO, and I look forward to that happening one day,” said Councillor Eugene Patterson.
The motion to form a joint CCO with the city council passed with 11 votes for, and one abstention from Māori ward councillor Tilly Turner.
Councillor Turner said she couldn’t in good faith vote for either option.
“I’m listening to all the kōrero about waters, and there’s nothing that says anything about my tupuna, which is the Waikato River,” Councillor Turner said.
“I see value in both options. I like the regional option because it cares for the whole river. I like the Hamilton one, because there’s value in it for our people in the Waikato District.
“I think whichever way we go today, we need to start to shift how we treat the water that is my tupuna, that ends up feeding us, cleaning us, and looking after us.
“I want to know where things flow from there. I want to know how this will affect us in the future before we make the final decision. There's a bit more work to be done.”
In an “unusual” move, mayor Jacqui Church acknowledged this, noting the strength and wisdom that the Māori ward councillors bring to the council.
The CCO would be run as a separate entity, with an independent board and a CEO reporting to the board.
Both councils would have equal representation on a shareholder forum, alongside representatives from Waikato-Tainui with voting rights for board appointments only.
Hamilton City and Waikato District would have 50:50 voting rights, with the door open for other councils to join later.
Background on all three options will be included in public consultation in March and April next year.
Waipā District Council has been invited to join Hamilton and Waikato District’s CCO, and is considering it.
A bid to make a wider regional CCO, Waikato Waters Done Well, has indications of support from Waipā, Waitomo and Matamata-Piako districts. Hamilton has opted out.
Taupō, Ōtorohanga and South Waikato are considering their preferred option and Hauraki district is due to make decisions next week.