After all, running a council within a council just doesn’t make any sense. According to MidCoast Council administrator John Turner, it is even legally questionable. MidCoast Water was established in 1997 as a separate ‘county’ council which straddles local government boundaries. But with the amalgamation of three councils Gloucester, Great Lakes and Greater Taree in May, those separate boundaries across the catchments no longer exist. Since then, its board, previously made up of councillors across the three local government realms, has consisted solely of MidCoast Council’s administrator, John Turner and would do so until local elections next September.

“To do nothing was not an option,” said Mr Turner. 

Options canvassed included turning MidCoast Water into a company wholly owned by Council, or establishing a Water and Sewerage business unit within MidCoast Council itself. The latter won, and today (Wednesday Dec 21) John Turner resolved that MidCoast County Council be dissolved and its assets and operations (trading as MidCoast Water) be merged as a separate business unit into MidCoast Council. The resolution will be put to the Minister for Local Government for consideration and the proposal put on public exhibition by the Minister for 28 days at a time to be determined by him.

MidCoast Water’s report states there are considerable savings to be made in the move due to shared back office services and systems. These are expected to flow to residents and ratepayers, with planned water and sewer rate increases identified in the longterm plan finding themselves under a little less pressure.

“Savings could exceed $3 million and this may assist in mitigating water and sewerage pricing pressures in the short and medium term,” said Mr Turner.

Savings in councillor fees, executive staff, communications, HR and other corporate roles amounted to $2,400,000. 

MidCoast Water has approximately 200 employees who are guaranteed employment for the next three years under the local government act. Only one is on a contract and that’s its newly appointed general manager Ken Gouldthorp, who only joined up in April this year.

His report to Council stated it was debatable whether MidCoast Water was currently of sufficient size and scale to justify the cost of remaining a separate entity.

“MidCoast Water is currently facing financial sustainability challenges… as a result of high debt that is has incurred delivering a $315 million water and sewerage capital infrastructure programme [since 1997], together with reduced water consumption and 15 per cent increase in staffing between July 2014 and March 2016,” he said. 

In recommending the move, he may have just done himself out of a job.