Water charges
So the TDC rates bills have finally arrived and I can’t help but notice that water charges make up 45% of that account.
I have also noticed recently each of the three local District councils have signed up to some memorandum of understanding (MOU) over future management of our water systems at the sniff of a few million waved under their noses.
I didn’t get the consultation notice, nor can I easily find an official copy of the MOU, but we have been reassured that taking the money does not mean a commitment to the new proposals that smells like a grab for water control to the uninformed. That’s not what we elected you to do, to give up on consultation and give away our ‘democratic’ control of our shared supply of water.
The Alpine share sales debacle is over but not forgotten. The CBD vs Showgrounds debacle is past the point of consultative input, Thursday’s meeting was told by a councillor. That coming after hearing an hour and a half of sound reasons why the TDHL sale does not make economic sense for the life expectancy of the CBD.
With TDHL directors getting a 90% pay rise while appointing themselves a first General Manager, despite the Statement of Corporate Intent for 2020/2021 stating all administrative services are provided through the council, this council has many questions to answer to the ratepayers before we start paying our rates this year.
The biggest, most urgent matter to discuss with ratepayers is what is happening with this water bribe MOU. Publish it, consult widely or hereby be advised you are acting without the informed consent of those that pay the bills.
Janya Lobb
Levels
Response from Timaru District mayor Nigel Bowen:
Three waters management is a major part of council business, with operating and capital expenditure combined accounting for about a third of annual council spending, or just over $42 million. Timaru has been diligent with maintenance and development across our water services and is very much ahead of the curve compared to many other districts, this is one of the reasons why I publicly stated that I resisted amalgamation without safeguards for smaller communities such as ours.
The Government MOU was presented to councils with a timeline that didn’t allow for public consultation. However, to get the best outcome for our residents we need to be at the negotiating table, and that required us to sign the document. This initial agreement is to engage with designing a future model, it does not commit us to anything more, and with this in mind it wouldn’t have been beneficial for our community to turn down what was a reasonably significant amount of government funding. Any significant change to water services delivery that comes out of this process will require public consultation, but it’s important for us to be at the table now to help get the best deal for our local community. The MOU can be read at timaru.govt. nz/watermou