Owners of Bellatino's Food Lovers Market Bart Narracci and Emma Hagen said they weren't happy with the way the water crisis was handled; having lost customers despite keeping up with their own business responsibilities.
"We have a great record yet were the ones that pay for this. If council traced the contaminated water back to our shop we would be shut down."
Ms Hagen said their business had an endless amount of compliance to do every day in order to keep their doors open, pointing out that, unlike them, the council was unable to maintain what they were responsible for looking after.
"The amount of record keeping we're required to do takes a lot of effort and time and requires diligence. What council seem to be doing is not conscientious at all."
Mr Greaney said he wasn't surprised to hear of the "dysfunctional" relationship between the Hastings District Council and Hawke's Bay Regional Council, adding that he expected more from elected representatives.
"I look at it and I just think it's pretty sad that a bunch of grown ups just can't do what they're supposed to do, and what we pay them to do.
Havelock North resident Lola Berney said she thought both councils would have been "better off" if they had worked together.
"I think they're getting on now that they've had a wake up call."
Owner of Havelock North retailer Hangar Leanne Crosswell said she thought the council still needed to get its act together.
"The chlorine in the water is atrocious. People can't even bathe in it it's horrible. People are losing money. We pay our rates and what are we paying for?"
Havelock North resident Raymond Gardner, a plumber by trade, said the councils should be prosecuted for the water crisis, just as he would expect to be prosecuted if he didn't do his own job properly.
All in all, the lack of transparency and accountability made it difficult to move on from the water crisis, Mr Greaney said.
"I think everyone wants to move on but it's hard to move on when there's no solution being presented...It's like a cloud hanging over your head."
Mr Yule's reputation would most likely suffer from his actions, he added.
"If you're the leader of the community and you have a team of people under you and their ethos is one of "She'll be right" or "Let's do the bare minimum" then this is where mistakes creep in. So you can't come out of here smelling like roses if you've done that much damage to an entire community."