Scoop  Regional

Dunedin ratepayers deserve explanation of $980,000 pay-out

17 October 2017

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Why the former Chief Executive of Delta Utility Services, a Dunedin City Council-owned lines company, was handed a ratepayer-funded pay-out of $980,000 needs explaining, say the Taxpayers' Union. Grady Cameron resigned earlier this year and the Council is refusing to give details of the pay-out, claiming that it is gagged by a 'confidentiality agreement'.

Jordan Williams, Executive Director of the Taxpayers’ Union says, “If we can’t know the reasons for the pay-out, whoever approved the confidentiality gag must be identified. They are the ones who need to defend it.”

“Mr Cameron was given $420,000 more than his base salary. This is public money, and Dunedin ratepayers have a right know what they paid for.”

"The lack of transparency questions the legitimacy of the pay-out. If the decision was justified, then surely those who made the decision can be upfront with ratepayers. How else can there be accountability?"

ENDS

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