Ruapehu District Mayor Weston Kirton. Photo: RNZ / Angus Dreaver
The mayor of the Ruapehu district has initiated an independent investigation into a $700,000 overspend within the council's community and recreational services.
Mayor Weston Kirton said the over-expenditure on community assets, including the river walkway in Taumarunui, was serious and needed to be thoroughly investigated.
Meanwhile, a councillor claimed red flags were raised in November about a major cost overrun, but the actual amount had only just come to light.
Weston Kirton said intial reports attributed the over-expenditure to "wrong coding" for work, consultancy costs, and overbudget contracts.
There was no indication the money had been misappropriated, he said.
He said council members learned of the overspend a couple of weeks ago after chief executive Clive Manley initiated an internal review.
Kirton said the review and a further independent investigation would examine decision-making procedures and the council would be informed on ways to improve processes.
That report would likely land in the next month.
He said it was too early to speculate on where the money would be found to cover the costs, and whether there would be consequences.
"It's probable that we'll have to either stall projects and put things on hold, for example the consultancy that takes place in the organisation has been paused, until such time that we work through some of these issues.
"Before we talk about heads rolling, we'll talk about how we can actually rectify the situation and give confidence to the community that we've got it under control."
Councillor Lyn Neeson said concerns about a cost overrun were raised at the end of last year and that an independent investigation was a good move.
She said ratepayers should not have to foot the bill, but the council could not afford the debt and it was likely services would have to be reduced to cover it.
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