The controversial Mangawhai Community Wastewater Scheme ended up costing ratepayers around $57 million - far more than the initial $10.8m estimate. And now the Kaipara District Council is suing its former CEO Jack McKerchar for his handling of the "botched" system.
The financial burden on the council from the scheme led to the Government appointing commissioners to run the council last year and yesterday the commissioners voted to pursue Mr McKerchar through the courts, saying he needed to be held to account for his role in the failings around the controversial sewage system. Mr McKerchar had not responded to Northern Advocate efforts to contact him by edition time to respond to the KDC action.
Kaipara ratepayers were told the final scheme would cost no more than $10.8 million when it was first announced in 2003, then $37 million in 2009, while at the same time the council had taken out a loan for $57.978 million for the scheme.
In a report condemning the decision-making around the scheme last year, Auditor General Lyn Provost said the council's decision to basically double the size of the project from $35.6 million to an estimated $57.7 million "wasn't appropriate."
Kaipara chairman of commissioners John Robertson said Mr McKerchar left the council in October 2011 after reaching a financial settlement with former elected members. Since then, there have been repeated calls from Kaipara ratepayers to hold Mr McKerchar accountable for his role in the botched Mangawhai scheme, Mr Robertson said.