Tasman District Council

Tasman District Council (Te Kaunihera o te tai o Aorere) is the unitary local authority for the Tasman District of New Zealand.

The council is led by the mayor of Tasman, who is currently.

Tasman elects its 13 councillors from five different wards: three from Motueka, three from Moutere/Waimea, four from Richmond, one from Murchison and two from Golden Bay.

History
The council was formed in 1989, replacing Richmond Borough Council (1891–1989), Motueka County Council (1900–1989), Golden Bay County Council (1956–1989), and Waimea County Council (1876–1989).

After the 1989 local government reforms Tasman, Nelson City Council, Marlborough District Council and Kaikoura District Council were under the Nelson-Marlborough Regional Council. The regional council was disestablished three years later in 1992 and Tasman, Nelson and Marlborough became unitary authorities. The regional functions for Kaikoura were transferred to the Canterbury Regional Council.

Golden Bay and Motueka wards also have community boards, each with four elected members, who work with the Council to support their local community.

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.

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

Tasman District Council also 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.

The two councils also have a joint District Licensing Committee, which deals with all alcohol licensing matters.