Cameron asked Pue if the motion also agreed to the $10,000 fee to join the campaign.
He reminded the council it was awaiting answers from the Local Government Minister to a list of questions on the proposals. The Minister and the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) were already working with mayors and local government working parties on the reform proposal through the Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ) association of councils.
Cameron said the parties were addressing "exactly the same points" as those raised by the breakaway councils.
"We're one of the councils that has signalled to the government that we cannot afford to carry on [with Three Waters services] unless we get government money. We all need millions. If we don't get funding, we're stuffed."
The Government last year put the cost of nationwide infrastructure upgrades at between $120 billion and $185 billion.
Asked what the negatives would be if the Ruapehu District Council joined the C4LD campaign, Cameron said: "You gain nothing. My feeling is if all 67 councils are united around this, we'll get what we want. If another group comes in with a different point of view, we won't."
Cameron was a member of the LGNZ's governing body, the National Council. He said working party recommendations in the pipeline would make a significant difference to the existing proposal.
The council had already decided to hold a public referendum on the Three Waters reform when it reached a Parliamentary Select Committee.
Cr Murray Wilson said signing up with a "renegade" group of councils would be the wrong move.
The council had already resolved to keep its powder dry until the Select Committee process was under way and there were firm proposals before the public, Wilson said.
"I see no point at all in supporting this. I don't think it's going to make a scrap of difference. I think it would be a waste of [ratepayers'] money."
Cr Janelle Hinch suggested tabling the matter until answers to the council's questions were received. She said many people mistakenly believed freshwater policy and the Three Waters reforms were one and the same and this showed the community needed more information before making decisions.
But Doyle said the community appeared to be united against the government proposal.
"We're elected here to reflect the views of the community. There's only one person I can find in this whole community that actually likes these reforms: that's our mayor. Everybody else I've talked to is totally opposed to them."
Signing the declaration would send a clear message of opposition until the proposal was changed, he said.
"It's a dog's breakfast and I'm really, really disappointed that Ruapehu District Council is seen as favouring these reforms when my feeling around this table is that the majority of us are actually opposed to it," Doyle said.
"I don't think the ownership model is right. Effectively all of our rights in ownership are being taken away. The ownership needs to be retained with the people, with the ratepayers.
"It's a very convoluted governance structure. You've got to have buy-in from the community and the community is not buying into these reforms."
Doyle said the proposed reform was rushed and there was too much happening at once.
"The RMA and the local government reforms should occur before Three Waters reform. Pushing pause [on Three Waters] is a pragmatic solution."
Cr Karen Ngatai said local authorities were unable to afford water service provision because the government was not providing the funding needed, and it was now proposing to remove a source of council funding.
"They've made a direct decision to take away our funding arm. They are our taxes, it's not government money. Those are our taxpayer dollars and we're not getting a say in how those are going to be spent," Ngatai said.
Cr Viv Hoeta said democracy would go out the window under the government model, which proposes the amalgamation of services under four new entities.
"My problem with it is that we're not at the table. I want to be at the table when making these decisions, especially in regards to these assets and what belongs to us as a community. They talk about local government but local is not in that picture. Yes, we need reform – we don't need it rushed. Where is the little guy that built this country?"
Cameron said most of the council's above-ground assets were government funded rather than ratepayer funded.
After the motion passed, he said he had spent 11 years chasing water services reform.
"At last it's coming to some fruition. My view is this is going to happen, let's make it work. I keep thinking of ratepayer affordability. They [C4LD] think that taking it back is going to help them – it's not."
Government modelling last year showed that without the proposed reform, households in the Ruapehu District would pay $8700 a year for water in 2051. The reform would save ratepayers a whopping $7500 a year - $200 less than the $1430 they paid now.
• Local Democracy Reporting is Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air
