Less money will be spent on road safety improvements in Tasman over the next three years than what had originally been budgeted.
Tasman District Council was not successful in all its funding bids to the New Zealand Transport Agency, leaving a $5 million hole between the council’s budgets and the funds it has available for the work.
The funding gap affects the 2024-27 period and left the council with the question of whether it can continue to fund all the work.
However, the council received an additional $2.1 million from NZTA in the 2018-21 period, and an additional $2.4 million in the 2021-24 period.
As such, transportation manager Jamie McPherson told elected members on Thursday that he was “quietly confident” that the council would eventually receive additional funding for pothole prevention and local road operations, which includes maintaining bridges, retaining walls, the environment, road signs, and streetlights.
But it was road safety and hazard mitigation works, along with footpath and cycleway works and maintenance, where McPherson had concerns after NZTA had “pretty much closed the door” on any additional funding.
He requested the council approve an extra $1.47 million over the next three years to top-up the work in those areas which had been budgeted for but now lacked funding.
Looking at 2024/25, that would mean an extra $453,000 of spending – equivalent to a 0.4% rates increase.
The consequences of not approving the funding could impact the council’s ability to attend road safety issues as they arise, as well as worse footpath conditions and deferring projects wanted by the community, such as the Upper Moutere shared path.
“There are a range of impacts, but it’s hard to get specific about exactly what those impacts would be,” he said.
“It comes with risk. But some risks, as we know, don’t pan out.”
Elected members voted against topping-up the funding in a bid to keep the council to its forecast future rates increases.
“Any increase in expenditure, both in this year and the programme, will put significant pressure on the currently suggested 7% rate increase for the following year,” Mayor Tim King said.
But councillor Mark Greening thought that instead of leaving the works unfunded, money should be re-directed from “less important” priorities, such as community facilities like the Tapawera community hub.
Councillors didn’t support that suggestion, though the district’s planned community facilities are not funded by general rates and so diverting funds from that specific area would not have been possible anyway.
An NZTA spokesperson said that the Top of the South had received 66% more funding for local road operations and pothole prevention in the 2024-27 period than in 2021-24, a $190 million increase.
Tasman specifically requested $76.3 million for 2024-27 and received $73.9 million from NZTA, up from $50.7 million in 2021-24.
Of the $73.9 million allocated to the district, $50.7m can only be used on pothole prevention.
“Local councils will have to operate and make their decisions within the local road funding they have been allocated.”
Funding allocated by NZTA is determined by the policy direction from the Government.
As such, the council received no contribution from NZTA for low-cost and low-risk improvements for public transport infrastructure, walking and cycling, and for local road improvements like hazard mitigation, and rural road and road safety improvements.
Local Democracy Reporting is local-body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.