Council to consult its preferred water services delivery model
Clutha District Council will consult with the district next month with its preferred water services delivery model being a joint council-controlled organisation (CCO).
The other two options to be consulted on include a Council in-house business unit and a standalone Clutha District Council CCO.
The decision to proceed with the joint CCO as the preferred option was decided at Council’s meeting on Thursday 3 April.
Under the preferred option, Council is proposing to join with Gore District Council, Central Otago District Council, and Waitaki District Council.
The three Councils will hold their own meetings in the coming days to consider their preferred option as well.
The four councils have signed an agreement to work together to examine options for the delivery of water services in the future that meet their communities' expectations and the Government’s new regulatory requirements as set out in Local Water Done Well (LWDW).
LWDW is designed to address New Zealand’s long-standing water infrastructure challenges while maintaining local decision-making flexibility.
By September this year, all councils must have identified the best options for delivering water services in the future, talked to their communities about them, and produced a Water Services Delivery Plan.
The plans will show how councils intend to deliver water services that meet regulatory requirements, support growth and urban development, and are financially sustainable.
The consultation document will include a complete analysis of the three options, including the impact on each council’s rates, debt and levels of service and opens on May 9.
In a report published last year Morrison Low found that water services delivery in Otago and Southland would become unaffordable without fundamental change.
The report estimated that the water bill for 76% of residential users in the two regions would double within 10 years. Additionally, workforce shortages and infrastructure demands would require regional coordination to avoid inefficiency and competition.
Council to help fund security cameras in Kaitangata
Council approved 50% of funding towards the purchase of CCTV cameras for Kaitangata.
Council acknowledged the influence the CCTV cameras had in other parts of the district in reducing crime and damage to council’s assets.
Councillors were supportive of this request stating that it was important to make sure Clutha’s communities were safe and secure.
Council also approved minor funding towards signage and ongoing operating costs of the CCTV cameras.
Council’s reimbursement policy updated
Council approved an updated reimbursement policy and retired the Policy on Reimbursement of Charges, Hire Fees, and Rents 2022.
The policy required changes as Council had divested some of the halls originally on the list and only covered community facility hire with rents now separate to the Fees and Charges policy.
Councillors queried looking at 75% of the community hire fees instead of 100%, however decided that if left at 100%, then an increase in funding needed to be considered through the Annual Plan/Long Term Plan.
The groups that use the facilities can apply for reimbursement and not the hall committees.
Council also adopted the 2025 policy subject to the maximum claim per group per year being reduced to $1,500.00.
Nuclear policy retired
Council decided to retire its Nuclear Weapons Free Zone Policy which was developed back in 2010.
The policy was already covered by the New Zealand Nuclear Free Zone, Disarmament and Arms Control Act, introduced in 1987 and therefore it was decided a separate Council policy was not required.