A council spokeswoman has confirmed the sum — without GST — was to cover the fees of barrister Robert Buchanan who carried out an independent investigation following a complaint from Councillor Ian Pottinger against Cr Nobby Clark in August.
He found Cr Clark had breached the council’s code of conduct when he made comments about the chief executive Clare Hadley in a council meeting.
The matter was closed last Tuesday — after months of investigation — during a meeting of the council’s performance, partnership and policy committee meeting when Cr Clark publicly apologised to Mrs Hadley and his fellow colleagues.
Speaking to the Otago Daily Times yesterday, Cr Clark reiterated he had admitted his mistake at the earliest opportunity.
He said at the start of the process he had acknowledged fault and had asked if a full investigation was necessary.
That was declined.
"I don’t understand why our system does not allow a person in a initial stage to say ‘Look, I can see I’ve done wrong’, because it doesn’t change what the accounting would subsequently be.
"It would save money. Definitely. Probably would be a quarter of that price."
Among the conclusions of the report, Mr Buchanan said there was no justification for Cr Clark using the words he did.
That included implying Mrs Hadley had not been telling the truth, which could have damaged the council and chief executive’s reputation.
He also acknowledged Cr Clark was not challenged at the time and asked by chairman Darren Ludlow to withdraw his statement.
Cr Clark concluded by saying he "stepped out of line" and could not have done anything else other than apologise.
"If you get into a heated debate, get passionate and say the wrong things ... You just need to front up and face the consequences. And that is what I did."
Last year, Cr Lesley Soper also lodged a Code of Conduct complaint against Mayor Sir Tim Shadbolt; the investigation into that complaint cost $9000.
Crs Pottinger and Ludlow were unable to be reached for comment.
