This year’s Ashburton Santa Parade is in doubt, with its longtime organiser saying a council funding shortfall has made the beloved community event unviable, while the council insists it wants to see the parade continue.

Carol Johns, who has organised and run the parade for 14 years, said she was unable to find a sponsor this year because of the economic climate, so applied to the Ashburton District Council’s community grants scheme, as she does every year, to cover road closure costs.

The council has always granted enough to pay the full traffic management cost directly to the contractor, but this year approved just $2,000, leaving her $1,500 short, and added a further charge to approve the traffic management plan.

“It’s the biggest cost at around $3,500, so it’s just not viable to carry on,” she said.

“I’ve organised and run it for 14 years on the smell of an oily rag, and it’s only the sponsors, community support, volunteers and my family, who do everything for free, that have kept it going.”

The parade operates on a shoestring budget. Johns said she has only ever had $5,000 in sponsorship, from which she must hold back $838 each year to renew public liability insurance for the following year.

The remaining $4,000 covers advertising, repairs, the council permit, portaloos, and fuel for the Kiddie Train and Smurf float. She also prepares 1,000 bags of lollies, half of which are sponsored, and puts up a $500 prize for the best themed float.

Her frustration with the council extends beyond this year’s grant. About six years ago she took custodianship of Ashburton’s iconic Kiddie Train and added it to the parade’s assets.

After spending more than $3,000 getting it certified, she knew it would not pass again and decided to rebuild it. The rebuild cost more than $10,000, with all the work done for free apart from electrical.

“In my event application I applied to run the NBS Ashburton Santa Parade and Market Day, and followed this up with an email saying the market was part of the parade, but they have said it was commercial, and if I spent the money on the Kiddie Train, that’s my decision.”

She said she was $5,000 out of pocket for the train, as the market day takings did not cover the rebuild after costs, and a $2,306 event permit bill was now at debt collection.

She also described a meeting with the council’s Liz McMillan about the Kiddie Train, saying she “appeared to be very uninterested.”

Ashburton District Council Chief Executive Hamish Riach said the Santa Parade was one of many valued community events seeking support through the council’s contestable community event grant fund, and this year demand exceeded the budget available.

“Council had to balance support across a range of community events and initiatives. As a result, the grant awarded to the Santa Parade, as with other applications, was lower than the amount requested.”

Eight applications were received, with total funding requests of about $35,000, while the available funding pool was about $24,000.

The council said the Santa Parade and Christmas Market organiser applied for $4,000 towards this year’s events and was notified on 2 July that a $2,000 grant had been approved for traffic management costs. Its financial support for the parade over previous years has averaged just over $3,000 a year.

Asked whether the decision was influenced by the inclusion of the market day, Riach said the application was considered alongside others seeking support from the same funding pool, and each was assessed on its own merits.

He acknowledged rising costs were creating challenges for community events across New Zealand.

“The cost of delivering community events has increased significantly in recent years, with traffic management now one of the largest cost pressures facing organisers.”

Riach said the council recognised the time and effort that had gone into making the parade a special event for the community.

“We know the Santa Parade is a much loved community event and we’d like to see families enjoying it again this Christmas. While decisions about the event’s future sit with the organiser, we remain open to discussing options and future support.”

While no alternative arrangements have been agreed, he said the council was “ready to discuss practical ways we can help.”

Community feedback since the announcement has been very positive, Johns said, but time is running out. Registration forms would usually already be sent out and the theme set, so a decision is needed by the end of July if the parade is to go ahead.