Sport Taranaki chairman Gordon Brown Photo: RNZ / Robin Martin
A New Plymouth councillor says Local Water Done Well legislation is the first step towards a Taranaki unitary council - a move he welcomes.
Councils around the country are in the process of deciding whether to go it alone or band together as part of the government's replacement for Three Waters.
Gordon Brown, who has been on the New Plymouth District Council since 2013, favoured going even further.
"I think this is all part of the government's grand plan to get councils working more collectively and together, and let's face it - in Taranaki it's a no-brainer. It's not if, it's when.
"And this is the first step towards amalgamation. It may not be on the agenda as such, but it is part of the short journey to having a Taranaki unitary council."
Brown thought that amalgamating with Stratford and South Taranaki would be a great move.
"It's inevitable. Ratepayers deserve the benefits an amalgamation would bring. Hallelujah, bring it on."
He had an ally in veteran councillor Marie Pearce, who was elected in 2007. Pearce said Taranaki had a population of just over 100,000 and duplication of services was something that had to be looked at.
"Sharing costs and resources was the way forward," she said.
New Plymouth District Mayor Neil Holdom thought talk about council amalgamations was "premature".
"In my view there is no real appetite for amalgamation. I haven't heard that come from the community. It's only really something politicians talk about, generally as they approach an election.
"This has nothing to do with council amalgamations - it's about how we deliver water services."
Neil Holdom Photo: RNZ / Robin Martin
Councillors considered a preliminary report which recommended New Plymouth continued to investigate a standalone service delivery plan and a regional plan including Stratford and South Taranaki.
It said the main advantage of cross-council arrangements was the ability to borrow up to 500 percent of operating revenue - almost double that available to standalone councils. It would also have the advantage of scale and help build resilience and expertise.
The report showed if the councils combined water services, New Plymouth would end up cross-subsidising its neighbours. That got under the skin of councillor Murray Chong, who thought the city should go it alone.
"That's mainly on cost. The difference between a 200 percent increase [over 30 years from $1500 to $4500] if we go independent or a 314 percent increase [to $6200] if we amalgamate based on the information we were given. That's a huge increase to the ratepayers that this council represents in this district."
Councillors voted to continue exploring both options. Holdom thought that was a prudent approach.
"That's because the situation is so fluid and we're not really clear on what the other councils want to do, and we haven't really got a clear indication on some of the regulations.
"So, we're really going to develop two plans - one that allows the council to go it alone and one that allows us to work with the other couple of councils in Taranaki."
Holdom said more work needed to be done around the pricing implications.
"The real concern is around cross-subsidies. If everybody had the same price for water, New Plymouth would be subsidising South Taranaki for pretty much the whole time and Stratford for a portion of time.
"If we can look at options to address those concerns with catchment-based pricing for instance and get the benefits of scale, I think that sounds like a good solution."
New Plymouth District Council has to make a final decision on its preferred option next year ahead of public consultation in September 2025.