Mayor 'cautious' on water report
11 May 2015
Waipa Mayor Jim Mylchreest has reacted cautiously to a report into how water infrastructure should best be managed in the future.
The independent report says the sub-region would save $468 million over 28 years if three councils - Waipa, Hamilton City and Waikato District - formed a ratepayer owned company to manage water.
The proposal would involve all three councils transferring their water assets and water-related debt to the company.
But Mayor Mylchreest said he wanted to go beyond the numbers to see what the recommendation would mean specifically for Waipa residents and ratepayers.
We've only just received the report today so it's still very fresh. Waipa councillors are miles away from making any kind of decision or even forming a view, he said.
I don't imagine we will be rushing to take a position on this without having had a really good look at what it means for our district.
Personally, I want to have a really good look at the detail and very clearly understand the pros and the cons. There's a lot more questions to be answered yet.
Mayor Mylchreest noted that any decision to form a CCO could not be made without a significant public consultation process.
For more information on the Waikato water study go to www.waterstudywaikato.org.nz
Media enquiries, contact Jeanette Tyrrell (on behalf of council) 027 507 7599