Better to be transparent

There are quite a few interesting matters up for discussion at Carterton District Council’s [CDC] Audit and Risk committee meeting on Wednesday. Reviews of the clocktower earthquake strengthening project and the wastewater treatment plant upgrade are among them.

These documents give Carterton ratepayers the information they have been asking for – a playby-play of what has gone right and wrong in these infrastructure projects.

The wastewater treatment plant project in particular is one which needed the most urgent explanation.

All sorts of figures have been thrown around in the past few years about the costs of the upgrade.

One Stuff article describes the project as a “planned $4 million expansion of Carterton’s wastewater plant” in 2018.

The council’s 2015 long term plan gives a budget allocation of 2.75m for two stages, and a Times-age story from 2019 labels it a $6m project.

In the council’s 2017/18 annual plan, a revised budget estimate of $8.1m for the project was given [post land purchase and consent] up to the end of stage two.

It’s clear the project has evolved a lot since its inception in 2013, which explains the many figures we have heard over time.

But a document in Wednesday’s meeting agenda is the first time I have seen the scheme with a budget of just over $12m.

And despite the many hurdles the project has faced – mudfish relocation, delays, etc – this document states the project is running almost $1m under budget.

Ratepayers want to know what they’re paying for – they are the key stakeholders.

Imagine you are a homeowner and you have purchased a massive shed to be built on your property.

You were originally told it would be completed by May 2019, but it’s now May 2021 and you still haven’t got a signed-off shed.

You also were originally told the shed was going to cost $50,000 but it’s now costing you $100,000.

You’d probably want to know years ago a bit more about why it has cost so much and why it’s still not built.

The document’s release comes just weeks after candidates in Carterton’s by-election called for more light on the district’s major project.

At this time, it was labelled through Local Democracy Reporting Services as a “multi-million dollar wastewater treatment plant estimated to cost $10m”.

At the time, candidate Mike Osborne said he wanted more scrutiny of the sewage works scheme.

“To be blunt, what I see are little bloody puff pieces with photos of where we’re at. But that’s not transparency or anything like a proper project plan.”

Fellow candidate Grant Pittams said he felt the release of “key information” would help ward against accusations of a lack of transparency.

“If I was sitting on governance, I would expect to see information on progress to date, budgets, and risks, and how they are being managed.”

Successful candidate Dale Williams said: “I think the council would do well to make it as transparent as possible to take out some of the concern, nervousness, and speculation, out of the current environment”.

I look forward to the outcome of conversations around the council table on Wednesday.