Three down, one council to go. South Wairarapa, Carterton and Masterton are finally lined up to create a new combined water services entity for the Wairarapa and Tararua districts – while Tararua will shortly determine if it wants to join the new body.
That body will be a CCO – Council Controlled Organisation – providing services, funded and answerable to the four constituent bodies – if Tararua agrees at its June 11 meeting.
South Wairarapa district was first to sign on after 88 percent of submitters supported the move away from either a stand-alone body or some other format.
The resolution gave SWDC the chance to join “a pathway for the councils to continue collaborating to ensure better outcomes for our communities,” councillor Colin Olds said. Olds is deputy chair of the Advisory Oversight Group helping drive an officials group working through the options for implementing central government’s Local Water Done Well policy.
Carterton was next off the rank with a decision in mid-May to join the planned “Wai+T” CCO. As its meeting report noted: “The things most liked about Councils’ preferred WTCCO option were economies of scale, shared resources and improved financial stability. On the negative side, the things most people disliked about this option were loss of local control, risk of subsidising other Councils and concerns about the new entity becoming bureaucratic and inefficient.”
Public consultation showed the joint Wairarapa + Tararua water entity was the most popular option, selected by 70.4% of respondents (100 out of 142). Carterton District standalone water services was the least popular, chosen by 29.6% (42 out of 142).
“Economies of scale, resource sharing and increased borrowing capacity” were all noted as positives in the four-council plan.
Masterton became the third, though somewhat reluctant, body to join the “Wai+T” project on May 21. A majority of councillors (6 – 3) agreed to progress work on the water services model, including entering into a commitment agreement with participating councils and developing a Water Services Delivery Plan.
But councillors warned if bottom lines, including non-standardisation of water charges, debt ring-fencing and shareholding arrangements don’t get agreement from partner councils, they will leave the table and go it alone.
Mayor Gary Caffell told the meeting: “I would be the first one to pull out if I thought Masterton ratepayers weren’t getting a good deal.
“Even if we move forward with Wairarapa-Tararua, our staff are still working on the Masterton (stand-alone) model. To me, we have all bases covered.”
Tararua should decide its option at the June 11 meeting, and whether there are four “partners” in the game. Legally, councils must prepare a Water Services Delivery Plan and Implementation Plan by 3 September 2025 for Dept of Internal Affairs approvals.
