At its meeting in Tapanui on May 29, West Otago Community Board members were shocked to learn an unidentified individual had made multiple spurious submissions to the Clutha District Council under other residents' names, on the question of civic tree management in the town.
Council investigations had since provided ''several clues'' to the identity of the person, group manager service delivery Jules Witt told the Otago Daily Times yesterday.
Mr Witt would not be drawn on the precise nature of any identifying details, saying it was a board decision as to what steps to take next.
That could include reporting the matter to police for further investigation, he said.
''You occasionally get the odd silly submission where someone's obviously having a bit of fun at council's expense - Mr Drake submitting on a duck pond, for example - but this is the first time we've become aware of a deliberate misrepresentation of other people and their views.''
The submissions concerned trees on Tapanui's main business street and York St.
He said they had been made by one person, within 25 minutes, from the same device, and ''at the least [misrepresented] people and at worst [it was] fraud''.
At its meeting yesterday, the board was asked whether it wished to escalate the issue.
West Otago ward councillor John Herbert proposed an initial public appeal through local news media, which would ask the perpetrator to step forward and apologise for their actions.
If an August 16 deadline was not met, a formal complaint should be lodged with police, he said.
''The fact they used real people's names fraudulently is what gets to me. Let's give them a chance to come forward and account for themselves, and take it from there.''
Board chairwoman Barbara Hanna said the situation had caused ''considerable distress'' for those concerned.
''You do these things in good faith for the benefit of the community, taking your time to get it right and make sure everyone has a say.
''So to have someone undermine it like this is very disappointing, both for us as a board, and for those whose identities were misappropriated.''
Regardless of any outcome, the council would ''tighten up'' online submission procedures in future, Mr Witt said.
