Otago Regional Council chairman Stephen Woodhead is keen to clarify and avoid any risk to ratepayers arising from the SuperGold Card bus transport review.
Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ) president Lawrence Yule and Mr Woodhead met Transport Minister Simon Bridges recently to clarify aspects of the funding changes.
Mr Woodhead said it was a constructive meeting, and he was hopeful about clarification but his concerns remained.
In July, he said he was ''mighty frustrated'' over budget pressures arising from the Government's Gold Card free bus transport scheme.
The SuperGold free off-peak travel scheme, for people aged 65 or older, is a Ministry of Social Development-funded initiative, with the subsidy distributed by the New Zealand Transport Agency.
Councils were reimbursed for 65% of the adult cash fare, below the 75% level when the scheme was introduced in 2008, a recent council report said.
In a July report, council director corporate services Nick Donnelly noted the Government had recently advised that the national scheme would be capped at this year's bulk budget allocation, with CPI index adjustments.
Without having a ''prescribed funding allocation'', the council could not calculate the actual effect of the changes on its budget, he wrote.
Mr Woodhead was recently elected chairman of LGNZ's regional sector group.
In a report to a council meeting last week, he said LGNZ had decided to send another letter to the ministers responsible for the SuperGold Card review, ''objecting in principle to the funding changes''.
There were concerns throughout the country, he added in an interview.
The ORC was participating voluntarily in a Crown transport scheme and the Crown was morally obliged to fund it properly.
Mr Woodhead said he also wanted to avoid SuperGold Card bus users having to face any possible sudden change in the service, if the subsidy funding started to run short in future.
