The amount spent on employee expenses for the year ending June 30, 2009 was $6.46 million against a budget of $5.94 million.
The figure for the previous year was $5.38 million.
QLDC finance manager Stewart Burns told the councillors one of the reasons for the overspending was that staff at the district's libraries worked increased hours over the past year, which had not been budgeted for.
Cr van Uden said this increased expenditure for the libraries had not been approved by the relevant council committee.
However, the main reason for exceeding the budget, according to Mr Burns, was that extra money had been spent on "positions outside of the establishment", mainly consultants' fees.
Cr van Uden said project managers were apparently hired for projects but not charged to the specific projects, making it harder to determine what the expenses related to.
"We should be managing our employee expenses like any other business. This is not a good signal to send," she said.
Other issues discussed at the council meeting.-
Gravel leases
The council decided yesterday to grant new leases to Queenstown Hardfill Ltd and Fulton Hogan allowing them to continue their gravel operations at the Shotover Delta.
The new leases will run for 10 years, with two rights of renewal for 10 years each.
The leases carry an annual rent of $200, but the companies agree to meet the total cost of constructing and maintaining the access road, an estimated $750,000.
Ultra-fast broadband
Councillors said the district should not miss out on opportunities for ultra-fast broadband internet connections.
The Ministry for Economic Development has called for submissions before November 6 on the deployment of a broadband infrastructure, and the council decided yesterday to respond with a submission outlining its intentions.
The council will encourage a private or public company to form a Local Fibre Company to develop the infrastructure via glass-fibre cables.
Mark Kunath, the council's general manager for engineering services, recommended all cables should be dug into the ground in a manner that would minimise future spending on maintenance.
Councillors agreed every house in the urban areas of the Queenstown district should have access to faster internet connection via fibre-optic cables.
