Invercargill mayor Nobby Clark says he will not resign over unacceptable behaviour that's prompted multiple calls for him to stand aside.
He is withdrawing from the extraordinary meeting that's been called to deal with a code of conduct complaint against him.
Meanwhile, councillors have agreed mayor Nobby Clark breached its Code of Conduct in a material way.
They are now considering whether he should face a penalty for his behaviour or if his apology is enough during an extraordinary meeting
It comes after councillor Ian Pottinger asked for his resignation, saying his behaviour was unacceptable.
He and councillor Ria Bond also filed a code of conduct complaint after Clark repeatedly using the N-word.
The latest complaint from the United Fire Brigades' Association (UFBA) said Clark mocked, disrespected, degraded and offended its members and other guests during an event.
UFBA chief executive William Butzbach said Clark said volunteer firefighters were second-class citizens, made personal attacks on the MC - including her appearance, competence and the fact she lived in Ponsonby - and wrongly implied the UFBA president and MC were having an affair.
He apologised in a letter to Butzbach, saying he was suffering from "brain fade" following open heart surgery.
Clark was found to be in breach of the council's Code of Conduct following an investigation.
More to come...