Urban water rates may rise
Tasman ratepayers who are part of the ‘‘urban water club’’ are expected to face water account rates rises of 8-9 per cent if the proposed Waimea dam gets the nod.
The Tasman District Council’s urban water club includes Richmond, Brightwater, Wakefield, Mapua, Pohara, Collingwood, Murchison, Tapawera and Upper Takaka. It also includes Takaka for firefighting only.
TDC corporate services manager Mike Drummond said the tipped 8-9 per cent rise was the additional amount the council expected it would need to collect in total from volumetric and fixed charges as the urban water share of $25 million earmarked by the council for the proposed dam.
The council and dam proponent Waimea Irrigators Ltd (WIL) are potential partners in the estimated $82.5m dam project in the Lee Valley.
The TDC has earmarked $25m in its Long Term Plan 2015-25 for the project. WIL proposes raising at least $15m from irrigators along with up to $25m via a 15-year loan from Crown Irrigation Investments Ltd, which acts on behalf of the Government as a bridging investor for regional water infrastructure development.
It is anticipated other funds may come from the Nelson City Council and the Ministry for the Environment.
the TDC in June passed a resolution that allows for an increased council capital contribution of up to $3m along with the council taking a higher share of operating costs.
It also opened the door for the council to underwrite the proposed loan from Crown Irrigation Investments.
Mayor’s casting vote ensures Waimea dam plan lives on with higher ratepayer costs
In a report for the full council meeting on Thursday, TDC chief executive Lindsay McKenzie says a lift in the rates cap may be needed in the 2018-19 year to cover the additional operating expenditure, ‘‘if that is agreed’’.
‘‘The number is around 1.4 per cent on the general rates income,’’ McKenzie says.
Drummond said how that extra expenditure would be apportioned had not yet been determined.
The finance boss went on to say that two points in a draft resolution in McKenzie’s report related to a council expectation that any costs above the $25m would be met by ‘‘direct beneficiaries’’ of the dam, not ratepayers outside the area, in Murchison or Golden Bay, for instance.
Another point in the draft resolution seeks confirmation from councillors that the proposed dam ‘‘is the best solution for meeting the community’s need for goodquality local water supply infrastructure’’.
A review of alternative schemes for augmenting the urban water supply is included in the agenda.
‘‘The review confirms that the dam delivers water at a substantially lower cost than any alternative,’’ McKenzie says.
‘‘The alternatives do not offer environmental and broader community and economic benefits or attract central government and private-sector funding to lower the cost to urban water users.’’
There is also no ‘‘do nothing’’ option when it comes to securing the urban water supply against droughts and growth in demand, he says. Second conflict claim A second complaint alleging a conflict of interest over the dam project has been lodged with the Office of the Auditor General (OAG).
The second complaint relates to mayor Richard Kempthorne and his family, McKenzie says.
‘‘We have responded to that complaint along with the earlier complaint relating to Cr [Kit] Maling. We await the OAG’s advice on what further steps they may take.’’