Benchmarking of regional councils shows that Tasman is lagging behind its peers in river management resourcing.
Tasman District Council has held numerous workshops about its different work areas as it develops its plan for the 2027-37 decade.
Last week, a focus was rivers and coastal structures, and their workshop material compared the district to other comparable councils in the river management space.
Tasman currently has allocation for five full-time equivalent (FTE) staff in river management, though one of those roles is currently vacant.
Marlborough and Gisborne – two other unitary councils with comparable populations and area – both have nine FTEs.
Adjusted to FTEs per 10,000 residents, Marlborough was at 1.8 while Gisborne was at 1.7 with Tasman at 0.8.
Tasman also lagged when adjusted for FTEs per 1000 square kilometres, with its 0.5 trailing Marlborough’s 0.7 and Gisborne’s 1.1.
In terms of absolute budgets, Tasman was broadly in-line with one of the two councils but trailed the other.
Tasman’s operating budget – which cover’s day-to-day expenses – was at $2.2 million, largely in line with Gisborne’s $2m but trailing Marlborough’s $6.5 million.
On an operating dollar per capita basis, Marlborough spent more than three times Tasman, and more than double on a per square kilometre basis.
As for capital budget – which was the cost of installing new infrastructure – Tasman’s was $6 million, ahead of Marlborough’s $5m but behind Gisborne’s $10m.
On a capital dollar spend basis, Tasman’s spend on both a per capita and per square kilometre basis was just over half of Gisborne’s.
The figures come from a draft review sector capability review from Te Uru Kahika – the partnership group of the country’s 16 regional and unitary councils.
The workshop comes as Tasman continues recovering from the June-July 2025 floods and residents band together to demand better river management practices.
Deputy mayor Brent Maru, who chaired the workshop, said river management was “one of the most talked about areas of concern” in the community.
He told Local Democracy Reporting that he thought Tasman’s river team was under-resourced.
“Resourcing in the river space is absolutely essential,” he said.
“The expectations, [based] on the current size of the team we have, are unrealistic from us and the community.”
Tasman’s “vast” river network stretched 14,300 kilometres, but the council only managed 285km, with just 60km of stop banks around Motueka, Riwaka, and the Waimea Plains.
While everyone in the district paid some form of river rate, the dollars only went towards that 285km – a fraction of the total river network.
Maru said that resident’s expectations of what those rates fund, and the actual work being done, were “a mile apart”.
While many always wanted more river work done, people were also struggling with rising rates, he added.
“Ultimately, it’s up to the ratepayers or the community to decide how much are you willing to invest.”
Roughly speaking, every additional $1 million in operating expenses, or $10 million in the capital spend, would add 1% to any future rates increase, he said.
While some propose cutting staff to reduce council costs, given the rivers team only currently had four people, he thought they should be an exception.
Draft budget figures for the 10-year long-term plan had not yet been decided and, as just one of 15 votes around the table, Maru could not guarantee that more funding would be allocated.
“I personally think they are under resourced, so it’s up to at least another seven councillors around that table to agree with me to have any impact on that.”
However, he added that “getting our rivers right” was a priority for all elected members.
Draft budgetary decisions would be mad before the end of the year, and residents will be consulted on the long-term plan proposal in the first half of 2027.
