Waikato District Council today made an emphatic commitment to working in partnership with Hamilton City Council on a joint CCO to supply water services. Come March 2025, Council will be consulting on options, with Hamilton City identified as the preferred way forward.
A joint CCO with Hamilton would allow both councils to focus on meeting the demands of high levels of growth in the district with a boundary-less approach to providing water services.
“There are many practical considerations that went into this decision”, outlines Waikato District Council Mayor Jacqui Church, “but there are also closely aligned values and principles.”
The new joint CCO would commit to honouring Te Tiriti and the agreements made in the Waikato River settlement, Te Ture Whaimana.
“As shareholders in the new CCO, both councils would be committed to key operational values, including, amongst others, transparency, integrity, customer-focus, climate change and environmental responsibility in the delivery of reliable, affordable, safe and innovate water services to our communities,” said Mayor Church.
Assessment was made against a number of criteria, including financial efficiency.
“It’s important to acknowledge that the financial benefits for our communities will be measured over the long-term, as returns and efficiencies are likely to take time to have significant effect,” said Mayor Church. “But, for all options, the impact on rates, is of course, a priority. Details of this and other considerations will be outlined as part of next year’s call for public feedback.”
Other evaluation factors included Te Ture Whaimana, councils’ ability to support boundaryless planning and investment for growth, developing people and capability and the overall customer experience.
The council has also highlighted the need to prioritise operational effectiveness, regional contribution and the opportunities presented through scale as key parts of the decision-making process.
Run as a separate entity, the CCO would have an independent board and appoint a CEO reporting to that Board of Directors. Both councils would have equal representation on a shareholder forum, alongside representatives from Waikato-Tainui who would have voting rights for Board Appointments only. Voting would be allocated as one shareholder one vote between the two councils, meaning that Hamilton City and Waikato District would have 50:50 voting rights, with the door also open for other councils to join this CCO later.
Each local government water organisation needs to submit a plan for how it will deliver its services to the Department of Internal Affairs in September 2025 and, under new legislation, the government will be able to challenge or reject any plans that it feels do not sufficiently meet criteria for financial sustainability.
Waikato District Council will be outlining specific impacts, decisions and options in detail leading up to and during the consultation period, which will align with Long-Term Plan consultation in March and April.
Background on all options will be included in public consultation in March and April next year, including joining the regionally-focused partnership of councils within the Waikato Water Done Well group or retaining the existing contracted supplier model. The design of a joint council-controlled organisation alongside Hamilton City will be identified as the preferred option.
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