Manufactured Mayoral Invoice Requires Explanation

Two City Councillors have sent a “please explain” message to the Manukau City Council Chief Executive after a restaurant was reportedly asked to “make up” an invoice for Manukau Mayor Len Brown.

It was alleged in the Sunday Star-Times today that Council officials working for Mr Brown approached a restaurant asking for a new invoice to be made up.

The clean invoice, which does not give details of the $810 worth of food and alcohol purchased, was requested as Mr Brown’s mayoral credit card spending has come under increasing scrutiny.

Manukau City Councillors Jami-Lee Ross and Dick Quax say the Council Chief Executive, Leigh Auton, needs to give an explanation for the alleged actions of his staff.

“This revelation is alarming, to say the least, and smacks of a cover up. It is entirely inappropriate for Council officials to be requesting a made up invoice on behalf of the Mayor,” says Mr Ross.

“Manukau Ratepayers deserve a full explanation of the spending made on the Mayor’s ratepayer-funded credit card. We need to know why this apparently fabricated invoice was requested, who requested it, and whether it was done with the knowledge of the Mayor and CEO”.

Mr Ross says if there are embarrassing food or alcohol bills, it would be better for Mr Brown to simply come clean with the public. He says council officials should not be expected to take such questionable action.

“We also need an assurance that this expensive dinner was a genuine business expense”, says Mr Ross. “The restaurant in question, Volare, was visited late on a Sunday night and is within two kilometres of Mr Brown’s home”.

Mr Quax says the latest episode in the mayoral credit card saga is the worst and most disgraceful situation he has seen as a councillor.

“In nine years representing Pakuranga on the Manukau City Council, I have never seen such appalling behaviour as I have seen this week.

“Full details of Mr Brown’s credit card spending were requested to give the community confidence that he had not abused his ratepayer-funded credit card. Now we see reports that council officers have been tasked with covering up potentially embarrassing material.”

Mr Quax says the public might be able to forgive occasional indiscretions with the mayoral credit card. But he believes the community would not be able to look past manufactured invoices and attempts to conceal spending details.

Both councillors say they will be expecting a full explanation from Mr Auton when Mr Brown’s spending comes under the spotlight at the Council’s Policy and Activities Committee meeting on Tuesday afternoon.

http://img.scoop.co.nz/media/pdfs/1006/Letter_to_L_Auton_13_June.pdf

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