Hutt City Councilor Chris Milne is guilty of ‘serious and material’ code of conduct violations

An independent investigator has found “substantial and serious” violations of the code of conduct by Hutt City Councilor Chris Milne.

The violations relate to two separate complaints filed against Milne to the council’s executive director by Deputy Mayor Tui Lewis in May.

The former accused Milne of interfering with the council’s waste and recycling bidding process, while the latter alleged an ongoing conflict of interest as the council considered selling land for the benefit of Hutt Valley Tennis.

Independent investigator Leo Donnelly found that Milne had violated the public relations rules in relation to the first complaint, and conflict of interest and ethical behavior regulations in relation to the second complaint.

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Donnelly said the violations were “material and serious and should be brought to the attention of, and considered by, [Hutt City] Advice”.

Councilman Milne’s actions and responses to date reflect a lack of knowledge of how those actions might be perceived and could be damaging to the council’s reputation.

“The adverse impacts of Councilor Milne’s actions are real and, if not remedied by his acceptance that they should not be repeated, they run the risk of undermining the purpose and objectives of the code.”

A report written for councilors by CEO Jo Miller said she was notified by a representative from Waste Management Ltd that Milne had called him during a “live bidding process” on the council curbside recycling and waste collection system .

Miller reported the incident to Mayor Campbell Barry because it went against the communication protocols of elected members.

“The approach from the council’s perspective was simply to ensure that the proper communication protocols were observed, [because] not following them could put the council at risk.

“The attempt to resolve the concerns was unsuccessful at this stage,” the report says.

The second complaint was related to an “ongoing conflict of interest” in relation to Hutt Valley Tennis, where Milne’s wife was president.

This conflict was discussed with Milne before the council voted to fund the club last year.

Milne voted on the matter anyway, but a second vote was held, excluding Milne, following media attention after the first vote.

Milne again voiced his intention to vote on a club-related issue in February, but was discouraged.

But in May, Miller was told that Milne had contacted a senior council official to discuss a proposal to sell council-owned land for the benefit of Hutt Valley Tennis.

“The officer described Councilor Milne’s attitude as ‘optimistic’ and reported that the councilor had said he was willing to move quickly,” the report said.

Councilors will consider the findings on Friday and decide whether to impose any punishment on Milne.

Milne declined to comment, other than saying he would present evidence Friday that the council had not yet seen.