A southern mayor fears lives could be at risk amid a funding shortfall for his region’s roads.

On October 11, Southland mayor Rob Scott penned a letter to Transport Minister Simeon Brown explaining the issues his council faced trying to maintain its 5000km network — the second largest in the country.

A copy of the letter was included in an agenda for this week’s council meeting alongside data about shortfalls.

Scott said the average Southland resident was responsible for the cost of 151 metres of road compared to 4 metres for every Aucklander.

“Noting the size of our roading network . . . with only 21,000 ratepayers to cover its costs, our people feel the pinch of every dollar that we spend.”

The council had reluctantly reduced its funding request to $147 million, meaning 105km of sealing and 13km of rehab work would go by the wayside, Scott said.

But even then, NZTA Waka Kotahi only approved $125 million, leaving the council “stranded” and needing to find a sum which was the equivalent of an 18 per cent rating increase, he said.

Some of the cuts already proposed by staff were not satisfactory, such as dropping edge markings to save $1.2 million.

“At face value this might not sound like a big issue, but it is a significant safety concern especially in our 100km/hr rural roads.

“We don’t have streetlights, and at night and/or poor weather conditions these lines are a vital tool in monitoring one’s position on the road.

“This is the kind of decision that has the likelihood of people losing their lives.”

Three requests were laid out to the Minister — reconsider the request for the full $147 million, remove “ring fencing” budgets so council could redistribute funds within its roading programme, and make Funding Assistance Rates more equitable.

Information included in the council agenda said the Southland roading network was made up of 3000km of unsealed and 2000km of sealed roads.

There were 840 bridges in the network, 56 of which were either closed or had weight restrictions.

Speaking to Local Democracy Reporting, Scott said he had met with Brown once since sending the letter.

“The numbers are hard to argue with there, and I’m optimistic that we’ll get to a good outcome.”

Minister Simeon Brown said he had been advised by NZTA that a funding request of $143 million was received, of which 87 percent had been funded.

No council in New Zealand had received a full allocation for its request, he said.

“There are always more bids for funding than there is money available, and NZTA must prioritise funding across the entire country.”

Brown had forwarded Scott’s letter to the authority and asked them to find a solution to the line marking issue.

LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air