Council hot-heads sting ratepayers
Complaint probes put $180,000-plus in lawyers’ pockets
The cost of justice isn’t really something that you can argue against. Dunedin Mayor Aaron Hawkins (left)
In-house fighting, naughty words or bad behaviour, ignoring privacy rules — or simply rubbing their council colleagues the wrong way. These are just some of the reasons behind the numerous complaints elected members faced last year.
Almost a third of the country’s 78 councils have had to deal with code of conduct complaints since October 2019 when new councils were elected, according to information provided to the Herald under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act.
It comes as a Governmentappointed commissioner steps in to run the dysfunctional Tauranga City Council after Mayor Tenby Powell’s shock resignation.
Invercargill City Council is also facing leadership challenges, with an independent report finding Mayor Tim Shadbolt is struggling in the role, after the Department of Internal Affairs raised concerns about the council’s performance.
External consultants and lawyers appear to be the big winners out of the code of conduct complaints process, often earning thousands of dollars to investigate a complaint.
The total cost of the code of conduct complaints investigated externally cost ratepayers more than $180,000 in the past year. And of at least half the complaints investigated — many made by chief executives or elected council colleagues — it was found no breach had been made or if it had it was not material, so no further action was needed.
Dunedin City Council had the biggest bill, spending a total of $42,714 on four separate investigations, but Mayor Aaron Hawkins said this was the cost of justice.
Hawkins said the tools to manage the behaviour of elected members were limited largely to the code of conduct process and, while it was “prescriptive and cumbersome”, it was all they had.
A complaint about Councillor Lee Vandervis cost $25,841 alone. It was made by three councillors after he yelled and pointed a finger at Deputy
Mayor Garey during a July meeting. The complaint was upheld and Vandervis was removed from two positions.
Dunedin City Council refused to disclose details of the two elected members involved in a non-material complaint in May relating to disclosure of information that cost ratepayers $12,003. Two complaints laid by former council chief executive Sue Bidrose on behalf of members of the public against unnamed elected members also cost $3668 despite not being upheld.
“That’s the costs of the process ... we can’t ignore people’s concerns. The code of conduct doesn’t allow us to do that anyway . . . The cost of justice isn’t really something that you can argue against,” Hawkins said.
The first-term mayor did not think Dunedin was the worst-behaved council and said members were generally collegial and constructive.
One councillor’s controversial actions resulting in five complaints from his colleagues led to Rotorua Lakes Council spending $38,300 on a barrister to investigate.
The council found Reynold Macpherson’s comments on social media about a council tender process in December 2019 breached the elected members’ code of conduct and ordered him to apologise. He wouldn’t, so the mayor did for him.
Hutt City Council shelled out $27,500 on an investigation by a law firm into Councillor Chris Milne allegedly interfering with the council’s waste and recycling tender process and having a conflict of interest.
Milne was found to have seriously breached the council’s code and was struck off a subcommittee and the Seaview Marin Ltd Board, banned from talking to staff and required to undergo training. He also had to pay $16,500 of the investigation cost.
Taupo¯ District Council spent $1276 for an independent investigator to look into a code of conduct complaints against Councillor John Boddy who used the racist slur “n***** in the woodpile” at a council meeting in June. Boddy was found to be in breach of the code and censured by council and issued a formal apology.
Whangarei District Council incurred the fourth biggest cost — $11,117 — over code of conduct complaints.
The complaints involved Mayor Sheryl Mai complaining about Councillor Vince Cocurullo, who then complained about her.
Mai was found to have done nothing wrong. Cocurullo was found to have made a “minor breach” by releasing details of a confidential meeting agenda but wasn’t penalised.