This option establishes a separate entity. The CCO will manage drinking water and wastewater services, owned by Council but governed and operated independently, with its own CEO and board of directors.

Initially Council will collect charges on behalf of the CCO. In time properties with connections will receive a separate bill for water charges – removing them from Council rates, also moving to user pays water metering for those connected or in the reticulated boundary.

• Under a CCO, stormwater charges will remain as a separate targeted rate with Council due to the close link needed to manage our stormwater assets with other services such as roads and parks.

The CCO would come with higher initial costs and debt in the short term to set it up. Within the first 10 years properties connected to the services are likely to pay more.

Beyond 10 years, the costs for services are likely to level out and be slightly cheaper than the in-house unit.

More borrowing capacity for upgrades – the CCO can access more funding for water infrastructure by charging for services, without affecting Council’s overall borrowing limits.

Faster and more cost-effective projects – with fewer debt restrictions, upgrades can be completed sooner, spreading costs over a longer period and potentially reducing overall expenses.

Independent management and decision-making means less direct influence from elected councillors.

Harder to set up - establishing a separate entity with its own governance and administration will be challenging to set up within the statutory timeline.

User charges are higher in the short-medium term due to the need to match debt requirements and higher start up costs.

Cost of borrowing may be more than what it would be to Council because user charges are less secure than Council rates.

Council will need to provide underwriting to support financial stability.

Changes to other Council rates may be needed as Council has a legal requirement to keep its revenue from fixed uniform charges under 30% of total revenue.