CITY of Newcastle (CN) has refused to answer questions about the cost of Pinnacle Integrity's independent investigation into alleged Code of Conduct breaches by the council's chief executive Jeremy Bath.
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The independent conduct reviewer was tasked with probing allegations about Mr Bath's connections with Newcastle Herald serial letter writer Scott Neylon.
The report was "proactively" released this week, after a sustained four-month push from the community following the announcement of the investigation result in December which said there was "no evidence that the CEO directly contributed to the letters".
The Newcastle Herald asked the council questions about the cost of the investigation and whether it intended to release the figure to the public.
The council was also asked whether it is required to disclose the cost of the investigation under its financial reporting obligations.
CN declined to respond, instead pointing to its annual public release of Model Code of Conduct complaints statistics.
In the reporting period from 2022-23, the council referred three code of conduct complaints to a conduct reviewer, each of which progressed to a full investigation.
None of those were finalised at the time the report was published.
The total cost of dealing with code of conduct complaints within the period made about councillors and the GM, including staff costs, had come to $5993.
In 2021-22, City of Newcastle spent $38,233 dealing with code of conduct complaints.
While in 2020, an investigation into then-Newcastle councillor Kath Elliott's alleged verbal abuse of chief executive officer Jeremy Bath during a council workshop formed one of 12 code of conduct complaints during that council term which cost about $50,000 all up.
An Office of Local Government spokesman confirmed councils were required to report the total cost of dealing with code of conduct complaints each year, including staff costs.
However, they are not required to report on the cost of individual code of conduct matters.
"As a general rule, costs associated with managing code of conduct matters are funded out of council budgets," he said.
"The Office of Local Government does not have visibility of arrangements councils may have with their insurers regarding such costs."
Madeline Link
Madeline Link is a journalist at the Newcastle Herald, with a focus on Lake Macquarie City Council. To keep up with my stories, follow my Twitter @madeline_link, for tips email madeline.link@newcastleherald.com.au.
Madeline Link is a journalist at the Newcastle Herald, with a focus on Lake Macquarie City Council. To keep up with my stories, follow my Twitter @madeline_link, for tips email madeline.link@newcastleherald.com.au.
