Surf life savers overcharged the Tauranga City Council for paid patrols last summer, and have had to refund $6864.

The discrepancy is discussed in a report to be presented at council's projects and monitoring committee meeting today.

In an audit, council staff discovered the council had paid for roaming patrol services that were not delivered.

The council paid $141,800 to cover the costs of paid lifeguards on Mount Maunganui, Omanu and Papamoa beaches during the peak summer period from December 20, 2010 to February 4, 2011 – ensuring beaches were patrolled Monday to Friday from 10am to 6pm.

Since 2008, the council has paid for two senior guard positions to increase the frequency of roaming patrols along the ocean beach from Tay Street to Papamoa.

When the issue was raised, Surf Life Saving New Zealand undertook its own audit and identified an error in the staff roster that resulted in fewer patrols undertaken than were paid for. SLSNZ has refunded the costs related to the undelivered service.

A 76 year old man drowned at Papamoa outside the flagged area at 3.30pm on February 8 in what surf life savers described at the time as their busiest summer in 10 years because of a combination of hot weather and ongoing surf.

Paid lifeguards wanted to extend their jobs until the end of February and made an annual plan submission for more money, which was declined.

The council's $141,800 has been the same for two years and accounts for 79 per cent of the paid guards funding.