But exactly when that transparency will materialise remains unclear, as council representatives and the other party involved continue to play their cards close to their chests.
It was reported in March the council had been ordered by the Building Disputes Tribunal to pay $1.963million to Dunedin businessman Russell Lund, following a long-running dispute over Balclutha's botched Centennial Pool upgrade.
The council, in a statement at the time, confirmed only it faced the ``liability'' following a ruling from ``an authority'', although all other details, including the name of the authority and the other party, remained confidential.
It was understood the other party was Mr Lund, having previously reported he was threatening a ``significant'' financial claim against the council relating to the pool project's headaches.
Balclutha's upgraded pool opened in 2012, more than eight months late and $3.3million over its original $1million budget.
Mr Cadogan, speaking after the payment was confirmed, said the council was ``assessing our options to make sure we do the best by our ratepayers''.
Yesterday, council chief executive Steve Hill said the council was still investigating potential legal options, such as a judicial review, but was non-committal about a timeframe.
``Our whole emphasis in what we're looking at is the best position for the ratepayer.
``Until, or unless, any action we decide to take becomes public, it wouldn't be in our interests to make it public.''
In the meantime, the council was also yet to decide how the payment would be funded, and to what extent the cost would ultimately fall on ratepayers, he said.
The payment had been made in March, funded temporarily from the council's reserves, but the council would consider other options to cover the cost permanently, he said.
Mr Hill said those options included a new loan, with its costs covered by rates, limited either to the Balclutha area or including the wider district.
Alternatively, the council could continue to cover the cost from its own reserves, where there was sufficient capacity, he said.
However, Mr Cadogan said using council reserves would still cost ratepayers, as the reserves were invested and returns helped offset rates.
``That's starting to be about 0.6% of rates if it's not in our bank account earning interest.''
Mr Hill said options would need to be discussed at next year's long-term plan hearings, but Mr Cadogan hoped for speedier progress, saying a report with options would be considered by the council later this month.
The payment had been a regular topic in discussions he had had with ratepayers around the district, Mr Cadogan said.
``It's an invidious position, because the questions get
asked and what can you say? There's still the frustration that sits there.''
Both Mr Cadogan and Mr Hill said they wanted more information to be made public, including the authority's finding.
However, that could only happen if the other party - whom they again declined to name - agreed to it.
``We just want to be transparent. We're not hiding behind anything . . . it's of significant public interest, and the full decision should be made available,'' Mr Hill said.
``If the public doesn't get some transparency ... then quite rightly the questions are just going to keep getting asked,'' Mr Cadogan said.
Mr Lund declined to comment.
