An investigation into serious allegations raised against Whangarei District Council CEO Mark Simpson by one of his staff is over, with no evidence of any wrongdoing or unauthorised use of ratepayer funds.
Mayor Sheryl Mai, who ran the investigation, said there was no evidence to support the allegations raised by Mr Simpson's assistant Ford Watson and the matter is now over, unless somebody came up with concrete evidence of wrongdoing. The matter had so far cost the council more than $10,500 in legal costs.
Mr Watson's affidavit before the October local body elections came after a review of the circumstances around Mr Simpson sacking his personal assistant Jan Walters for signing Stan Semenoff's mayoral nomination form but allowing Mr Watson to do work for another candidate, Warwick Syers.
That review found council protocols rather than Mr Simpson's actions were to blame.
Mr Watson then alleged Mr Simpson was prepared to unleash "skeletons in the closet" after his decision-making was scrutinised. Mr Watson alleged Mr Simpson stated he would respond if action were taken against him and indicated it was connected to unauthorised spending.