He told me he lives on the Northern Beaches of Sydney and travels to Orange along with other workers.

They all stay here for nearly two weeks reading water meters in and around Orange.

He told me he works for a contractor who is contracted to Orange City Council to carry out water meter readings.

I have contacted council and they have verified that this is how our water meter readings are in fact contracted out.

My doubts as to a what would be the cost of outsourcing are caused by the following reasons: the company holding the contract would no doubt have factored in its profit margin when tendering; also factored in would have been the cost of travel from Sydney and return for workers; also factored in would be the cost of accommodation for about seven people for nearly two weeks; the meal costs at three meals a day; the contractors' cost of supplying the reading equipment to read the meters and the contractors' workers' sick leave, holiday pay and living away from home allowances. There is no doubt the contractor would have factored all this in with his tender.

I will defy anyone from council proving to me a that my following idea is not more beneficial in costing to us ratepayers.

There are plenty of unemployed people in Orange who would jump at the chance to pick up work reading our meters, albeit only quarterly work, even a retired pensioner subsidising his/her pension.

When I suggested to the council employee about a retired pensioner doing the meter reading I was amazed by his response "it would be too much hard work for a pensioner". My god, since when was pointing a small hand-held device at a meter hard work?

The savings of council employing a local would be many. I would have thought that council would be, when making a decision to outsource, given over- riding consideration to giving the work to Orange residents instead of giving it to persons who reside many miles away and for over 50 weeks of the year spend not a cent in our city.

Since Wednesday I have spoken to many ratepayers and they like myself were amazed and disgusted at the way in which our water reading is carried out.

We all deserve answers as after all we ratepayers are the ones paying for it in our water costs. Council should provide to all water rate payers all costings re: the contracting out, we certainly pay for it.

Now we are hit with level four water restrictions, what happened to this $1 million pipeline we paid for? What happened to the water harvesting scheme? you can only blame mother nature for so much.