KEY POINTS:
The days of Auckland City ratepayers receiving soaring water bills to subsidise rates look set to end.
Days out from a council debate on the contentious water issue, councillors are exploring options to end the unpopular policy of taking "charitable payments" from the council-owned water company, Metrowater, for spending on stormwater and other council activities.
Mayor John Banks has called the practice "water price gouging".
Other critics have accused the council of using Metrowater as a "cash cow" to disguise rates rises.
One piece of advice headed for the garbage bin is a recommendation from officers to stick with the policy.
That policy led to water bills soaring 19.6 per cent in the past two years and a damning report from a parliamentary select committee accusing the council of misleading the public during consultation on the policy.
The political fallout included City Vision leader Dr Bruce Hucker losing his job.
Officers have told councillors any reduction in charitable payments would require either rates rises, more borrowing or lower spending.
Reducing charitable payments altogether would lead to a rates increase of 10.3 per cent over and above other planned rate increases in the next eight years.
Water bills would go up by 56 per cent in that time to cover other rises in Metrowater's costs, compared with 87 per cent under the current policy.
Mr Banks yesterday said an end must be put to charitable payments to prop up general council spending and poor-quality investments.
He said the level of "gouging" was unfortunate and moving away from charitable payments would lead to a shortfall of money.
Officers have proposed several options for phasing out or ending charitable payments, including increased borrowing or Metrowater taking responsibility for stormwater with possible taxation benefits.
Citizens & Ratepayers leader David Hay said the council had to best work out moving from the charitable payments system based on water usage to a system based on rates. "We have to make sure how we [change the system] is reasonably fair."
He said people with low water usage might gripe because their rates would go up by more than the fall in their water bills. On the flipside, people with high water usage would be thrilled because their rates would go up by less than their water bills.
Mr Hay and City Vision leader Richard Northey said it would be nice if the two main political tickets could reach a consensus on water.
Both tickets are opposed to the policy of charitable payments.
C&R councillor and finance committee deputy chairman Aaron Bhatnagar said the idea of Metrowater taking on responsibility for stormwater was worth exploring because it could lead to savings and end the need for charitable payments.
