In his report to the QLDC's community services committee meeting yesterday, Mr Bailey highlighted several areas where trees must be removed because they are old or diseased and pose a safety risk.
He said some of the trees needed urgent action, while others could wait until the start of the next financial year in July.
To further complicate the issue, some of the trees fall under the parks tree maintenance budget, while others are covered by the roading budget as they are on the side of roads.
The most urgent work within the parks area, deemed too risky to wait until July, will cost $56,533, but there is only $44,000 remaining in the budget.
Mr Bailey said the amount could be used, but it would mean there was no money left for any more maintenance or other requests for service in that area for May and June.
Urgent work that falls under the roading budget, which the report states should be done before July, amounts to $37,570.
This budget has also been spent for the 2009-10 financial year due to the unplanned felling of ageing poplars on Lower Shotover Rd at a cost of $71,000.
"There is no budget amount available to undertake the urgent tree works within the roading network unless over-spending occurs.
There is the option to hold off until July 1, when the new budget becomes available.
"This would mean balancing the likelihood of trees, mainly on Speargrass Flat Rd, falling within that period," Mr Bailey said.
A further $105,176 will be needed next year to remove or maintain trees already assessed but deemed possible to postpone until after July 1.
Of that, $92,362 will come from the parks budget and $12,814 from the roading budget.
General tree maintenance is also costing the council more than it expected.
The council recently completed a GPS mapping project to establish the number of street trees in the district.
As a result, it has more than 8000 registered trees, 3000 more than when it tendered tree maintenance in 2008.
Council contractor Asplundh charges $82,346 per year for the additional 3000 trees.
In an attempt to meet next year's budget of $428,941 while also allowing for the additional maintenance cost and covering the loss for this year, Mr Bailey suggested the council lower the sum available for "request for service", or ad hoc jobs, from $60,000 to $36,000.
He also proposed changing the the four-year cyclic maintenance programme to a six-year cycle, thereby lowering the cost by more than $68,000 per year.
"The cyclic maintenance programme was originally three years, but continued pressure on this budget has seen this steadily increase," he said.
Cr Cath Gilmour asked whether the council could avoid paying a commercial contractor to cut up and chip felled trees, and instead donate it to charities, which could chop it up and benefit from selling the wood.
QLDC general manager community services Paul Wilson said it was already council practice to give excess wood away whenever it was practical.
"We have no problem getting rid of wood," he said.
