A final reminder that the Local Water Done Well Consultation closes at 5pm this Friday 30th May. This is the only way your voice gets heard about how water meters are managed in the future.

This is the last time we are going to bug you about submissions for a while.

But, just a reminder that the Local Water Done Well Consultation closes at 5pm this Friday 30th May.

This is the only way your voice gets heard about how water meters are managed in the future.

If you are planning to do a submission, but haven't had a chance to yet, you only have a couple of days left.

• Earlier in the month we had suggested
• Taranaki Say No to a Water CCO
• We still stand by that after further investigations and attending the public meetings.

The only other option available on the consultation form is to stay as an inhouse business unit with the NPDC. People who have already submitted could only tick the option of an inhouse business unit.

We now prefer the inhouse business unit as the best option for Ratepayers and Renters.

Our reasons for this:

• The inhouse business unit is the ONLY option we are being offered that is a democratic option for ratepayers. Yes, we have very little say with how the NPDC is being run now - BUT – every 3 years we get to vote and change the Councillors who vote on our behalf. With this option we can change the decision makers.
• Any of the CCO options we can’t change the layers of Committee’s and Boards once they are created. We foot the bill for all the running costs but we have no chance to overturn this structure. This is not democratic.
• There are too many unknowns and too little detail of how either the legislation, or the final set up of the CCO’s will actually work.
• With any option of water supply delivery the Commerce Commission will be auditing the financial side of water supply. With the in house option we will have to pay for new staff to make sure we meet the new regulations for water, but rates income will have to be set aside to be used for water infrastructure. With the in-house option money set aside to pay for water infrastructure and delivery can’t be used for other things. Nice to have spending will have to reduce to balance the budgets.
• We do not support the up to 500% of water income financing arrangements that are available for water CCO’s. We prefer the in house model where only 135% of total rates income can be borrowed by the NPDC for all their activities. This option keeps our level of debt, and ratepayer risk, at a more manageable level for ratepayers to pay.
• In recent days the Minister of Local Government, Simon Watts, has written to all the Councils in NZ. In that letter he has told the Councils – they must listen to ratepayers – “About What They Want” for Local Water Done Well.
• Over the next 30 years there is so little difference in the cost of running all options, in house or CCO’s, and so many unknowns and extra layers with CCO’s, why take the risk that the modelling is wrong and all the extra layers of people cost a lot more than predicted.

Please send a submission if you haven’t already:

• The submissions don’t have to be long.
• Just tell them you don’t agree with changing anything, and you want to stay with an in house model for Water Done Well, if that is all you want to say.

There are text free boxes on this online submission form – so you can write things you want to say

Or – you can just tick one box – the in house business unit – if you want that one.

The link to the online submission form is here:

https://haveyoursay.npdc.govt.nz/local-water-done-well

Or you can send an e-mail – or drop off a letter at the NPDC reception.

• You must put this title on the document:
• Submission for Local Water Done Well
• You must put your name on the document.

E-Mail to – enquiries@npdc.govt.nz

Democracy only works if people actually say what they want, or don’t want. You have to send a reply to the Council for your opinion to be counted. Please don’t swear or they will throw out your feedback.

Did we mention we have been invited to be an “interested party” in this consultation by the NPDC ?

This means the submission we send will be as a voice for the Ratepayers and Renters of New Plymouth. We will send a submission from the Alliance and we will also request to speak at a meeting about that submission.

That will count as just one submission though, so it’s important that as many water users as possible also have their say on this issue.

Thanks so much to all the people who have let us know they have already sent a submission.