Mayoral probe cost $55k
Wairoa’s mayor, Craig Little, was the subject of a code of conduct investigation over alleged sexual harassment that cost ratepayers $55,000 in settlement and legal costs, it can now be revealed.
The investigation was sparked by a female employee after she complained to Wairoa District Council’s chief executive officer about Little’s behaviour towards her in mid-2017.
The complainant alleged the mayor’s behaviour breached the standards of ethical behaviour and the respect for others outlined in the council’s code of conduct.
A preliminary assessment of the complaint by the council concluded a full investigation was warranted and an independent investigator was instructed to carry this out.
But before that could occur the employee, who no longer works at the council, withdrew the complaint and said she had no objection to the council ceasing the
investigation and taking no further action.
The council’s interim chief executive at the time, John Freeman, decided to cease the investigation.
The council spent $55,652. That included an undisclosed sum paid in compensation to the complainant, as well as legal fees incurred by the council and the complainant.
The complainant did not wish to comment.
Little would not comment and referred a request for comment by Stuff to Wairoa District Council chief executive officer Steven May.
May did not answer questions but responded with a written statement, which stated the investigation was stopped after the complainant withdrew her complaint and ‘‘the employment relationship between the council and employee was ceased by mutual agreement’’.
‘‘Wairoa District Council followed the employment law, and as a responsible employer protected the rights of all parties involved,’’ the statement said.
When the council in 2017 was asked to provide details about the matter, it refused to do so. A complaint to the Ombudsman’s Office was subsequently made by local man Denys Caves.
In February this year, Chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier informed Caves that while he believed the council could refuse his full request, the public interest was such that it should release a summary of information at issue.
While the mayor’s privacy interests were lessened due his public, elected position, they were still ‘‘significant’’ and there was no public interest in disclosing details of the complainant, said Boshier.
There was high public interest in the council’s transparency of the investigation process and the spending of public funds for noncore business, he added.
As a result, Caves received an unsigned letter from the council last month with a brief summary of what had occurred.
Little was re-elected as mayor for a third term in last year’s elections, with 1973 votes – nearly four times the number received by his nearest rival.
‘‘. . . the employment relationship between the council and employee was ceased by mutual agreement.’’