The CAB would eventually become a standalone entity, needing just $15,000 annually from council, and could double for a time as an information centre for tourists.
Council will consider the request for funds when it deliberates on its budget later this month.
The CAB would be based from Community House and run under national guidelines. It needs 16 trained volunteers to get under way.
Community House Mid Canterbury manager John Driscoll took the funding request to council last week and said the community needed a central point where people could seek services and information, related to their health, wealth, and wellbeing.
Its volunteers would point people to the right services, which could include lawyers if they wanted legal advice or counselling if their marriage had just broken up.
CABs operate in 80 locations around the country, though the closest to Ashburton are in Timaru or Hornby. They are staffed by connectors who can provide up-to-date advice; CAB runs a nationwide database of 80,000 services.
Mr Driscoll said seeding money of $48,394 would help pay for a part-time co-ordinator, who would recruit volunteers and ensure they were trained to a required standard. Four people had already expressed interest in being volunteers.
Funding from council now would ensure the Ashburton CAB could move ahead quickly and be open in six months.
Mayor Neil Brown said council had closed its iSITE and asked if tourist brochures could be at the CAB, at least until the new civic building was complete.
Mr Driscoll said the CAB was open to that as Community House statistics showed inquiries had grown there since the information centre closed. Inquiries had jumped from 1800 to 4200 in the past year.
The CAB would operate Monday to Friday, though there was scope to open at the weekend. National guidelines meant it needed two rooms, one for confidential discussions.
Cr Stuart Wilson said he was worried ratepayers would be picking up the tab.
But Community House treasurer Dave Mathieson said the numbers stacked up. He said the CAB directory nationally fielded two million hits over 80 locations.
"You are looking at 25,000 hits per location. If we are successful with funding from council at $15,000 a year that is 60 cents per inquiry."
That was an economical way to help serve the community, he said.
