Some may never fully recover. The Hawke's Bay District Health Board should survey the population to confirm numbers and then compensation must be provided. By whom?
That is unclear at this stage. Through no fault of their own, some people are out of pocket hundreds of dollars, others thousands and the worst affected, tens of thousands of dollars.
Former Hastings mayor Lawrence Yule and his CEO put the value of the inconvenience caused by the gastro outbreak at $57 per ratepayer. The Scrooge-like rate rebate grudgingly given last year shows how little they cared about the populace. It was nothing other than an insult.
Before Mr Yule left his position to focus on his Tukituki election campaign, Columnist Mike Williams wrote that Mr Yule and CEO Ross McLeod should resign. They, however, had other ideas, instead proposing that, between them, they would arrange for some hapless, third-tier managers to take the rap.
They had a lot to lose - the ignominy of a forced resignation would likely have scuppered a long-wished-for political career in central government for Yule and, in the case of McLeod, end a mouth-watering weekly pay cheque of around $6300 before tax - plus perks. Who would relinquish those privileges willingly?
It appears that local people have had a gutsful, excuse the pun, of Messrs Yule and McLeod's rhetoric and abdication of responsibility.
Yule and McLeod have previous form for refusing to take responsibility for their failures. The CEO publicly bragged about his Animal Control Unit's accomplishments until public fury boiled over in 2014 and the dysfunctional unit had to mend its ways.
Mayor Yule stated publicly that the appalling treatment of dogs at the Hastings Pound under his watch was not the fault of staff but was due to 'policy settings'. No-one was ever held accountable for operating the non-compliant hell-hole even though the policies and directives came from their offices.
In the case of amalgamation, he vowed that he wouldn't stand for re-election if his grand plan for unity failed.
Despite the well-heeled people behind A Better Hawke's Bay bank-rolling a hugely expensive campaign, he failed . . . dismally.
Yet, next thing he was electioneering and enough people were taken in by his plausible patter that once again, Hastings was saddled with a part-time mayor . . . a civic leader who left the mayoral chambers empty on innumerable occasions while globe-trotting for his other employer, Local Government New Zealand.
At the mayoral debate at Karamu High School, Yule earnestly pledged to commit the next three years to serving the people of Hastings as a full time mayor before standing down.
Yet, barely three months later, he found the temptation of a bigger honeypot irresistible, reneged on his promise and announced he was aiming for the Beehive. What he should have done was say that while he would have liked to have represented Hawkes Bay in Parliament, he had given his electorate a promise and he would honour it.
Yule should have resigned months ago. He headed the council and it failed its fundamental duty of care by delivering contaminated water to unsuspecting residents.
The CEO should have gone too. He is responsible for employing and overseeing his staff, making policies and implementing them. He and his staff failed, big time. Lawrence Yule managed to leave council on his own terms.
However, the water contamination scandal may well end his political ambitions at the ballot box.
Jessica Maxwell lives in Havelock North and is a concerned ratepayer.
