Matt Cowley Tauranga City Councillor

No council can behave like a profitable business; let me tell you why.

Businesses focus on a target market of likeminded customers. Councils are mandated to look after the best interest of the entire community – now and in the future.

People ask me why it's taking so long for council to enter the technology world. The trouble is while businesses move as fast as their customers' expectations change, Council's journey is a lot slower because we need to bring the majority of our community along with us. This takes time.

The main reason why we cannot behave like a business is because government generally only exists where the market has failed. The market has failed to deliver drinking water to Tauranga households at an affordable price.

Council provides a tonne (yes, a cubic metre) of high quality drinking water to your tap for $1.76 (excluding fixed charges). That's amazing.

Private businesses sell drinking water to households in places like Australia, but they charge more than four times the amount. They can do it because demand outstripped supply, mainly in rural areas where water is not as abundant as it is here.

I'm also not holding my breath for a private company to knock on Council's door, asking to take over our carpark buildings. I doubt they ever will with our parking charges so cheap. It takes us about 10 years to break even at the current prices.

I think my fellow elected members would consider handing over some of our services to private businesses that could do a better job. But we are still waiting for them to knock on our door.

This topic was spurred up this week as we looked over our asset management plans for water supply, wastewater, stormwater, parks, and transport.

Bouquets to a previous brave council that agreed to install water meters for each household. It was one of the best decisions for ratepayers. Our water supply activity is now 100 per cent user pays.

The water meters slowed the city's demand for water, which meant Council could delay investing in a new water reservoir (Waiari - servicing Tauranga East).

Tauranga's had very few summer water restrictions since the meters were installed.

Meters work for water supply, so can it work for wastewater as well? Can our wastewater services become more customer-driven, rather than it being largely funded by the ratepayer?

Feel free to email me your thoughts (matt.cowley@tauranga.govt.nz), call/text me on 027 6989 548, and follow me at www.facebook.com/a.younger.voice.