The council employed the equivalent of about 92 full-time staff, group manager Jo Field told the first council meeting of the year, on Tuesday.
She was responding to a question from Cr Allan Birchfield, who has challenged the staff and consultant numbers.
Cr Birchfield, who was deposed as council chairman two years ago, has previously accused the council of building a "huge bureaucracy" that ratepayers could not afford.
The 92 full-time equivalent figure is a rise of about 15% on April last year, when the council said it had nearly 80 staff on its books.
But deputy chairman Peter Ewen said the council had taken on more staff to "get rid of the consultants".
Chief executive Darryl Lew said he did not have the exact numbers to hand but would check and provide Cr Birchfield with the answer.
"I can confirm that the number of consultants employed by the council has steadily declined to a very small number over the last six months as staff numbers grew. This is ... what council has asked me to do."
The council set budgets and desired outcomes for West Coast communities through its long-term and annual plans, Mr Lew said.
"It’s highly normal that it’s up to the chief executive and senior leadership team to use those budgets and not go beyond them, to achieve the outcomes that you’ve set — and that will be through a dynamic mix of staff and consultants."
"I would never employ geotech engineers on this council — it is right and proper that we employ consultants for that. So, I just want to restate my position as chief executive.
"I hope that’s clear to the councillors," Mr Lew said.
Cr Ewen said that given the West Coast Regional Council was the smallest regional council in country, with some of largest projects on its books, it was punching above its weight.
"Some of this government funding is tagged for consultants so that Wellington can have confidence in the model and confidence in this council to handle it."
Council chairman Peter Haddock said the council also needed the services of surveyors, for the Buller and other projects, and it would not make sense to take them on as staff.
"This was all thrashed out pretty clearly in our LTP, in a series of very long council workshops by six of our councillors who turned up to work through it."
Cr Birchfield had chosen not to attend the workshops, he noted.
The comment provoked a terse exchange between the chairman and Cr Birchfield over which meetings he had attended, which ones he was entitled to take part in and which ones he intended to show up for in future.
"In my 17 years of being on councils, you would be the most difficult person I ever had to work with," a clearly exasperated Cr Haddock said.
"And you would be the worst chair I have ever had to work with," Cr Birchfield said in response.
— Lois Williams, Local Democracy Reporter
— LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
