The Kaipara District Council has been ordered to pay former chief executive Jack McKerchar more than $18,000 in costs after it sued him for alleged breaches of responsibility.
In May, the Employment Court struck out KDC's case against him on the grounds a confidentiality agreement between both parties barred them from suing each other.
The council's government-appointed commissioners initiated action in the Employment Relations Authority against Mr McKerchar in late 2014, seeking damages for alleged breaches of his responsibilities as the council's CEO in relation to the management of the Mangawhai community wastewater scheme.
The matter was moved to the Employment Court because of intense public scrutiny.
KDC alleged Mr McKerchar's failure to ensure lawful rates assessments and invoices were issued from about 2006 prompted Parliament to pass the Validation Act, which retrospectively legalised the situation.