Details of severance payments of more than $250,000 have been included in this year’s Gore District Council draft annual report.
The report, prepared by corporate support general manager Lornae Straith, was tabled at yesterday’s council meeting.
For the year ended June 30, 2023, the council made severance payments to one employee of $33,022, the report said.
It also mentioned last year three employees were paid out $229,178.63.
"The severance payments were not disclosed last year due to a difference in interpretation which has since been clarified."
The payments for the year ended June 30, 2022, were $5000, $41,678.63 and $182,500 — of which $100,000 was partial reimbursement of legal costs.
It is understood last year Rebecca Tayler, Gore District Mayor Ben Bell’s mother, was paid an undisclosed sum after an employment dispute with the council.
Also in the report, which has yet to be signed off by the council’s auditor Deloitte, the council recorded a deficit of $2.433 million, more than triple its budgeted deficit of $763,000.
Its infrastructure assets, land and buildings were revalued on June 30 last year, but this information was not available when the 2022/23 annual plan was adopted.
This resulted in depreciation being underbudgeted by $1.3m.
Inflationary pressures have also been felt in personnel costs.
In May this year, the government reported wages were rising higher than the inflation rate.
"The council experienced this first hand with at least one instance where a difficult to recruit for position saw an inflationary wage increase of 30%."
Ms Straith said one of the highlights of the report was the government funding.
"We’ve got some good assets to come out of it like the library and community rooms next door and wastewater renewal projects."
