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Local Government Act 2002

Specific obligations and restrictions on local authorities and other persons - Obligations and restrictions relating to provision of water services - Joint local government arrangements and joint arrangements with other entities

137: Joint local government arrangements and joint arrangements with other entities

You could also call this:

“Local governments can team up with others to provide water services”

This part of the law talks about how local government organisations can work together or with other groups to provide water services. Here’s what you need to know:

A joint arrangement is when a local government organisation works with a non-government group to provide water services. This can last up to 35 years.

A joint local government arrangement is when two or more local government organisations work together to provide water services. This can last for any amount of time.

Before starting these arrangements, the local government organisation must ask the public what they think about it.

If a local government organisation enters a joint arrangement, they must:

Keep being responsible for providing water services. Control things like water prices and policies. Keep owning all the water infrastructure after the arrangement ends. Not sell any existing water infrastructure unless it’s really necessary for the arrangement to work well.

This law doesn’t apply to arrangements that only involve things like proposing special taxes for building infrastructure, managing those taxes, or sharing costs for building infrastructure.

A concession or franchise agreement means letting someone else charge for water services instead of the local government organisation.

This text is automatically generated. It might be out of date or be missing some parts. Find out more about how we do this.

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM172944.

Topics:
Government and voting > Local councils
Environment and resources > Water and water safety
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Part 7 Specific obligations and restrictions on local authorities and other persons
Obligations and restrictions relating to provision of water services: Joint local government arrangements and joint arrangements with other entities

137Joint local government arrangements and joint arrangements with other entities

  1. In this section,—

    joint arrangement means an arrangement entered into by 1 or more local government organisations with 1 or more bodies that are not local government organisations for the purpose of providing water services or any aspect of a water service

      joint local government arrangement means an arrangement entered into by 2 or more local government organisations for the purpose of providing water services or any aspect of a water service.

      1. Section 130(2) does not prevent a local government organisation from entering into, for the purpose of providing water services,—

      2. a joint arrangement for a term not longer than 35 years (except a concession or other franchise agreement relating to the provision of the water services or any aspect of the water services):
        1. a joint local government arrangement for any term.

          1. However, before a local government organisation enters into a joint arrangement or joint local government arrangement, it must,—

          2. in the case of a local government organisation that is a local authority, have undertaken consultation in accordance with the procedures set out in Part 6; and
            1. in the case of a local government organisation that is not a local authority, have undertaken consultation in accordance with the procedures set out in Part 6 as if it were a local authority.

                1. If a local government organisation enters into a joint arrangement under subsection (2)(a), it must—

                2. continue to be legally responsible for providing the water services; and
                  1. retain control over the following matters:
                    1. the pricing of water services; and
                      1. the development of policy related to water services; and
                      2. after the end of the joint arrangement, retain ownership of all the infrastructure associated with the water service, whether or not the infrastructure was—
                        1. provided by the local government organisation at the beginning of the joint arrangement; or
                          1. developed or purchased during the joint arrangement; and
                          2. not sell or transfer ownership of any existing infrastructure associated with the water service, unless the local government organisation reasonably believes that the sale is—
                            1. incidental to the joint arrangement; and
                              1. desirable for the success of the joint arrangement.

                              2. An arrangement entered into by a local government organisation is not a joint arrangement or a joint local government arrangement to which this section applies merely because the arrangement includes doing any 1 or more of the following:

                              3. proposing the use of a levy under the Infrastructure Funding and Financing Act 2020 to support the construction of eligible infrastructure:
                                1. carrying out any aspect of the administration of a levy under that Act:
                                  1. the vesting of eligible infrastructure under that Act:
                                    1. contributing to the costs of the construction of the eligible infrastructure.

                                      1. In this section, concession or other franchise agreement means an agreement under which a person other than the local government organisation is entitled to receive a payment from any person other than the local government organisation for the supply of the water service.

                                      Notes
                                      • Section 137 heading: substituted, on , by section 14(1) of the Local Government Act 2002 Amendment Act 2004 (2004 No 63).
                                      • Section 137(1): substituted, on , by section 14(2) of the Local Government Act 2002 Amendment Act 2004 (2004 No 63).
                                      • Section 137(2)(a): substituted, on , by section 33(1) of the Local Government Act 2002 Amendment Act 2010 (2010 No 124).
                                      • Section 137(2)(b): amended, on , by section 14(3) of the Local Government Act 2002 Amendment Act 2004 (2004 No 63).
                                      • Section 137(3): amended, on , by section 14(3) of the Local Government Act 2002 Amendment Act 2004 (2004 No 63).
                                      • Section 137(3): amended, on , by section 14(4) of the Local Government Act 2002 Amendment Act 2004 (2004 No 63).
                                      • Section 137(3)(b): amended, on , by section 33(2) of the Local Government Act 2002 Amendment Act 2010 (2010 No 124).
                                      • Section 137(3)(c): repealed, on , by section 33(3) of the Local Government Act 2002 Amendment Act 2010 (2010 No 124).
                                      • Section 137(4): substituted, on , by section 33(4) of the Local Government Act 2002 Amendment Act 2010 (2010 No 124).
                                      • Section 137(4A): inserted, on , by section 161 of the Infrastructure Funding and Financing Act 2020 (2020 No 47).
                                      • Section 137(5): added, on , by section 33(4) of the Local Government Act 2002 Amendment Act 2010 (2010 No 124).