Logan City Council has blown an “atrocious” amount of ratepayers’ money outsourcing an investigation into potential misconduct by a sitting councillor.
Clayton Utz Lawyers was paid over $28,000 to investigate Cr Jacob Heremaia for last year posting a third-party online survey to his Facebook page, in which he asked his followers for feedback about “a potential reduction in entry fees for council operated pools”.
The investigation concluded Cr Heremaia’s post was “unauthorised council business”, and therefore he engaged in “inappropriate conduct”.
Ultimately, Cr Heremaia was cleared of any misconduct after seven out of the 12 remaining councillors agreed his behaviour was not a breach of council’s code of conduct.
But before their votes were counted at a city governance meeting, the councillors were given the opportunity to voice their opinions.
Although some agreed the post was distasteful and “political in nature”, they slammed the investigation process.
Cr Jon Raven said the money spent on the investigation was an “atrocious waste of resources” that “didn’t pass the pub test”.
“We need to adjust the policy so there is a limit council can spend,” he said.
Cr Laurie Koranski apologised to the city’s ratepayers.
“I am just dreadfully sorry for all of the red tape and expense that has been spent on this particular issue,” Cr Koranski said.
“We are talking about $28,000, but let’s be real – how much was spent at the office of the independent investigator doing their work on this?
“How much time was spent by officers within this building on this particular issue?
“And have a look at how many of us are sitting in this room debating this for how long now?
“The waste is horrendous, and I apologise to the rate payer for that – no value for money here.”
