Tasman District Council

Tasman District Council (Māori: Te Kaunihera o te tai o Aorere) is the unitary local authority for the Tasman District of New Zealand.^[1] The council is led by the mayor of Tasman, who is currently Tim King.^[1]

Tasman District Council Te Kaunihera o te tai o Aorere
History
Founded	1 November 1989 (1989-11-01)
Preceded by	Richmond Borough Council Motueka County Council Golden Bay County Council Waimea County Council
Leadership
Mayor	Tim King
Structure
Seats	14 (1 mayor, 13 ward seats)
Length of term	3 years
Meeting place
Richmond
Website
www.tasman.govt.nz

History

Tasman District Council was formed on 1 November 1989, replacing Richmond Borough Council (1891–1989), Motueka County Council (1900–1989), Golden Bay County Council (1956–1989) and Waimea County Council (1876–1989),^[2] as part of nationwide local government reforms. The Tasman council, Nelson City Council, Marlborough District Council and Kaikoura District Council were within the Nelson-Marlborough region, until the Nelson-Marlborough Regional Council was disestablished three years later on 1 July 1992. Tasman, Nelson and Marlborough became unitary authorities on that date, with the regional functions for Kaikoura being transferred to Canterbury Regional Council.^[3][4]

Structure

Tākaka service centre

Tasman elects its 13 councillors from five wards: three from Motueka, three from Moutere/Waimea, four from Richmond, one from Murchison and two from Golden Bay.^[1] Golden Bay and Motueka wards also have community boards, each with four elected members, who work with the council to support their local community.^[5]

The council chamber is in Richmond and there are service centres at Motueka, Murchison, Richmond and Tākaka.

In 2020, the council had 289 staff, including 63 earning more than $100,000. According to the right-wing Taxpayers' Union think tank, residential rates averaged $3,186, and only Carterton District Council and Auckland Council had higher rates.^[6]

Committees

Council members meet each month as a full council. There are six council committees: Regulatory, Strategy and Policy, Operations, Audit and Risk, CEO Review and Commercial.^[7]

Tasman District Council has representatives on several joint committees with Nelson City Council: Community Development, Engineering Services, Environmental Planning, Tasman Regional Transport, Joint Shareholders Committee, the Nelson Regional Sewerage Business Unit, the Regional Pest Management Joint Committee, and the Saxton Field Committee.^[7] The two councils also have a joint District Licensing Committee, which deals with all alcohol licensing matters.^[7]

Councillors

Current councillors^[8]

Councillor		Ward
	Tim King	Mayoralty
	Stuart Bryant	Lakes / Murchison
	Celia Butler	Golden Bay
	Chris Hill	Golden Bay
	Barry Dowler	Motueka
	Brent Maru	Motueka
	Trindi Walker	Motueka
	Mike Kininmonth	Moutere / Waimea
	Christeen Mackenzie	Moutere / Waimea
	Dan Shallcrass	Moutere / Waimea
	Glen Daikee	Richmond
	Jo Ellis	Richmond
	Mark Greening	Richmond
	Kit Maling	Richmond