Tauranga City Council has today committed to working with Western Bay of Plenty District Council to establish a council-controlled water services delivery organisation (CCO) from 1 July 2027 (subject to due diligence).
This commitment aligns with the multi-Council CCO water services delivery model that Council consulted on in April.
The decision, made at an Extraordinary Council meeting today, also aligns with the intent of Council’s decision last Tuesday, 5 August. However there was a shift from producing an in-house water services delivery plan and transitioning towards a water services CCO by 2028, or sooner, with the Council deciding to progress a multi-Council CCO from 1 July 2027.
The Western Bay of Plenty District Council was named as Council’s preferred partner for this multi-Council CCO, with conditional approval also given for the involvement of the Thames Coromandel District Council.
“Given our decision on 5 August was a departure from the previous direction of travel, staff believed it was prudent to give Councillors information on the possible implications of retaining in-house delivery and what a change of water services model would require,” Mayor Mahé Drysdale says.
“We also received significant new information that came to hand since the 5 August decision. It was therefore important that Council took the opportunity to formally consider these matters and decide whether we wanted to reconfirm last week’s decision or consider an alternative way forward.
“The intent of the 5 August decision would likely have resulted in the same long-term outcome to where we got to today, but it better recognises a request from the Western Bay of Plenty District Council for help and certainty. As regional leaders, with a strong water service partnership already in place, a majority of Councillors voted to help out our neighbour and deliver certainty to both staff and our potential partners.
“The best outcome for our people is that we all work together. Through scale and efficiency, all councils involved will deliver significant savings to their ratepayers.
“Ultimately, all the data we have demonstrates that people will pay less for water in a multi-Council model than they would if we stayed delivering water as individual supply authorities.”
Most of the resolutions from 5 August are still valid, including the consideration of matters raised by tangata whenua and the position paper they provided to Council. Similarly, the resolution to welcome discussions on future waters arrangements with other Councils in the Bay of Plenty still stands.
The significant changes made today include a water services delivery plan shifting from in-house for 10 years to a multi-Council CCO from 1 July 2027. For now, stormwater will be managed in the CCO, with a further decision to be considered when more information is available.
Finally, confirmation was given that Council would work with Western Bay of Plenty District Council and Thames Coromandel District Council, subject to confirmation being given by Western Bay of Plenty District Council on that arrangement.
Tauranga City Council staff will now develop a Water Services Delivery Plan based on a multi-Council CCO model, ahead of submitting the plan to the Department of Internal Affairs by 3 September, as required by Government legislation.
The water services delivery plan will be reported to Council at a future meeting, the date of which is to be confirmed.
All of the new information and correspondence that was considered at today's Extraordinary Council meeting can be viewed on Council’s website.