In December last year, right before the year ended, Hamilton City Council (HCC) and Waikato District Council (WDC) came together on a way forward, and unanimously agreed with their respective staffers and announced that a CCO be co-designed to jointly deliver drinking water and wastewater services.
Under the contract of the CCO, each council would continue to manage stormwater services.
The co-design would enable consideration of a CCO as one future option as both councils respond to the challenges of growth, maintenance, and the increasing costs of new infrastructure.
The new CCO would allow both councils to tackle growth, maintenance, and rising infrastructure costs.
Hamilton mayor Paula Southgate. Photo / Mike Walen, KeyImagery Photography
Hamilton Mayor Paula Southgate said the decision was based on a “fundamental truth”.
“We simply cannot deliver the infrastructure our city needs by going it alone. We cannot meet our growth obligations and right now, we don’t have a mechanism that allows us to spread the cost of borrowing for large water projects.”
She said this is a “fairer way forward for ratepayers” that will drive efficiencies coming from “working at scale” over time, and hopes that a two-council CCO would be a first step towards a larger, Waikato-wide model.
“Longer term, we think working together is the optimal outcome for the city, for the region and for the Waikato River. But right now, we can only go as fast as other councils are prepared to go and we respect that.
“Both Hamilton and Waikato have significant growth challenges. We need to get on as partners and build infrastructure, in an affordable way, that will enable more housing and support economic activity.”
Waikato District Council Mayor Jacqui Church said many practical considerations went into the decision of a joint CCO, but “there are also closely aligned values and principles”.
A joint CCO with Hamilton would allow both councils to focus on meeting the demands of high levels of district growth with a boundary-less approach to providing water services.
Church said the CCO would commit to honouring Te Tiriti and the agreements made in the Waikato River settlement, Te Ture Whaimana, and highlighted the need to prioritise operational effectiveness and regional contribution.
“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 [innovative] water services to our communities,” Church said.
She said an assessment was made against several criteria, and it was important to acknowledge that financial benefits for communities will be measured “over the long-term” as returns and efficiencies take time to come into effect.
“But, for all options, the impact on rates, is of course, a priority.”
Waikato District mayor Jacqui Church. Photo / Supplied
Run as a separate entity, the CCO would have an independent board and appoint a CEO reporting to that board of directors, and both councils would have equal representation on a shareholder forum, alongside Waikato-Tainui representatives with 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 equal voting rights, and other councils could join this CCO later.
Southgate said their door is open to working with other councils, and staff have been directed to ensure future planning can align with a potential regional model.
HCC’s decision follows an analysis of two options: forming an in-house business unit or a Hamilton-only CCO. The total rates paid would remain the same under all options, but a CCO would allow the city to manage growth better and for both councils to work on vital water infrastructure.
WDC will outline specific impacts, decisions, and options in detail leading up to and during the consultation period, aligning with its long-term plan consultation in March and April.
Background on all options will be included in public consultation, including joining the regionally-focused partnership of councils within the Waikato Water Done Well group or retaining the existing contracted supplier model.
HCC will consult the community on a CCO, and at least one other option, early this year and make a final decision by June 2026.
