The trust submitted to the Central Otago District Council’s annual plan at a meeting in Alexandra this week saying there were "serious concerns" about its ability to manage the region’s heritage legacy.
Mr Shattky, the trust chairman, said it had "no authority".
The feedback from the region’s heritage groups was there was "no synergy" among them, he said.
The trust’s submission said "the heritage community is finding it difficult to identify and determine the appropriate bodies or processes that they should approach or follow in relation to the preservation of Central Otago’s heritage."
It wanted to restructure the groups, with their permission, into something with more synergy and more over-arching governance.
As part of this the trust requested $40,000 annually to continue its part-time co-ordinator.
Councillor Neil Gillespie asked what the future of the trust was if this did not happen. Mr Shattky said it would have "no future".
Central Lakes Trust was approached, but the group was told it was not able to fund such a role, he said.
The group’s submission noted the region’s heritage groups depended largely on retirees "on whom diminishing energy levels are taking an inevitable toll".
Council chief executive Leanne Mash said she only recently received the information on what was achieved with last year’s $15,000 grant. The council decided to wait until this information was made into a report before granting more funding.
