The Otago Daily Times understands the comments, which included a racial slur, were made by Strath Taieri community board chair Barry Williams towards a Strath Taieri Hotel worker after they mixed up a food order.
The victim of the abuse has since left town, to the dismay of Middlemarch residents.
A Middlemarch resident, who asked to remain anonymous, said the worker had left but could not say for sure whether it was due to Mr Williams’ comments.
They were was saddened by the victim’s departure and said their lasting memory of the town did not reflect what Middlemarch stood for.
‘‘For whatever reason this person has decided to leave, it is nevertheless sad that will be a memory that person will have of Middlemarch, probably forever.’’
‘‘That’s a bad, bad memory to take with you.’’
The resident, who had spoken to the victim, said she was leaving but did not specify the reason why.
Middlemarch resident and film editor Shane Loader said there needed to be more clarity about Mr Williams’ comments.
He said the comments were part of an ongoing pattern of behaviour from Mr Williams which was ‘‘dividing the community unnecessarily.’’
‘‘Where there’s a vacuum, rumour and innuendo start happening.
‘‘Things just need to be out in the open . . . silence has power too’’ Mr Loader said.
His performance in an oral submssion to the council’s annual general plan was as significant of a transgression as his comments towards the pub worker, Mr Loader said.
While he still had a lot to offer the community, Mr Loader said he thought Mr Williams should resign as chair.
‘‘Middlemarch as a community needs to deal with this issue so it can move. Until it has dealt with it properly and correctly, and the chair stands aside, it will never be dealt with — it will always linger.’’
When approached by the ODT about his comments, Mr Williams declined to comment.
In a post on its Facebook page, an unnamed representative of the Strath Taieri Community Board said the code of conduct process was outside the ambit of the Board, and council had initiated and managed the process.
However, the Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ) good governance guide for community boards makes clear community board chairs can be replaced should a majority of its members decide.
