Kāpiti Coast District Council has no Mandate for the installation of district wide water meters, and a rigged phone survey won’t help, says anti water meter campaigner Jackie Elliott.
The 28 day LTP consultation and submission period is over leaving most ratepayers and residents feeling even more ignored and confused than before, she says.
“The CEO shocked those attending the Council meeting of April 5th when he told staff to use the “Water Supply Options phone survey to stop enquiries about the Dam for good. Now we see just how he has rigged that phone survey.
“Figures released by council on the Water Supply options were inaccurate and deliberately misleading. Low costs quoted for single person households under the water meter option did not include the actual water usage or many on-going costs of water meter maintenance or meter reading.”
Costs quoted for the dam only option at $44million, were wildly inflated. “Council simply can not justify this figure,” Ms Elliott says. When consultants last costed the dam in 2006 for the Technical Advisory Group, the quoted price for the Maungotukutuku dam to be completed by March 2014 was $25.1 million. This is the price accepted by this Council in July 2010 when they accepted the T.A.G. report and project timeline.
“The dam, was quoted at costing $33 million, by the Charging Regime Advisory Group report in April, yet during the submission process, it was inflated again to $44 million. If anything this proves that ‘No’ price will be as good as today’s price. And by postponing its construction KCDC will be committing ratepayers to huge costs in the future as well as huge costs under water metering with no tangible gain.”
Ms Elliott says campaigners are concerned that both the T.A.G. and the C.R.A.G. were chaired by the same person, Mr Don Hunn, and that over 20 months, the outcome of the dam costing has differed so much. This looks like report writing to order, and it is just one of the issues they will be seeking further legal advice on.
“In accepting the T.A.G. report in July 2010, the Mayor stated there would be NO WATER METERS, we all remember this, and refuse to accept Council has the right to begin household and business charging. KCDC has no right to enter your private property to install meter equipment. No right to dig up your shared access driveway. No right to issue invoices to you other than for your rates or dog license and no right to spend ratepayers money on water meters, a project for which they have absolutely no mandate to proceed with. It is up to the community to ensure they never get that right.”
