Mayor Guppy is frustrated after receiving late funding advice from Wellington Water.

Each year Wellington Water provides Councils in the Wellington region with advice on the funding required to manage our water assets.

“We are annoyed with the delays in receiving this updated advice as it does not give us the time we need to consider the advice in a fulsome manner for our annual plan and budgets. Council planning processes have to meet statutory deadlines, which Wellington Water are aware of” Mayor Guppy says.

“We have continued to seek clarity from Wellington Water on the figures, but that information was not forthcoming until recently.”

“They [Wellington Water] have asked for an additional $2.4 M of funding on top of the current $8.4 M budgeted to continue to deliver business as usual. We’ve been told if we do not fully fund the shortfall, there could be compliance risks and a drop in service, but said it isn’t clear what that looks like for us or our residents. It is the lack of detail for such a significant cost that is concerning” Mayor Guppy says.

Council will continue to work with Wellington Water to understand implications of this request and options available.

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