The revelation comes after an amalgamation of Bathurst and Oberon councils was recommended under the NSW Government’s blueprint for the future of local government in the state.

A spokesperson from the Office of Local Government yesterday confirmed that Oberon spent $154,400 in the 12-month period from September 1, 2014 to August 31, 2015 investigating the complaints.

Oberon Council’s bill beat the bills racked up by North Sydney ($145,572), Murray Shire ($125,249) and Wingecarribee Shire in the Southern Highlands ($100,000). 

In comparison, Bathurst Regional Council spent $3965 on its code of conduct complaints and Orange City Council spent $86,450 in the same reporting period.

“Yes, Oberon is the highest in the state,” the Office of Local Government spokesperson said. 

“You can extrapolate from that it works out at about $29.50 per Oberon resident to pay for the code of conduct complaints.”  

Local Government Minister Paul Toole, whose state electorate covers both Bathurst and Oberon, told the Western Advocate yesterday that the money being spent investigating code of conduct complaints was a concern.

“These are funds being wasted that could otherwise be directed into improving local infrastructure such as roads and community facilities,” he said. 

“People have to remember this is the ratepayers of Oberon’s money that is being spent dealing with code of conduct complaints and this sizeable figure is the highest in the state. 

“It is even more alarming when you consider Oberon Council is not a big organisation, with limited revenue which needs to be spent very carefully.”

Mr Toole said Oberon ratepayers could be excused for being upset with their councillors as the code of conduct details follow on from speculation that Oberon Council’s former general manager received a payout of around $130,000 after his contract was terminated.

The payout would have taken away any benefit Oberon was due to get from a special rate variation for the current financial year.

Oberon’s 6.50 per cent increase in rates in 2015-16, well above the rate cap of 2.4 per cent for most other councils in NSW, was due to bring an extra $136,000 in revenue. 

Mr Toole also noted that Oberon Council had had three general managers over the past five years.

“This fact certainly raises further concerns,” he said.

The NSW Government wants to consolidate the existing 152 councils in NSW into 112.

The Oberon community has steadfastly maintained a preference to stand alone, while Bathurst previously nominated a merger with Blayney as its preferred option.

The NSW Government says a merger between Bathurst and Oberon would bring savings of $31 million over 20 years and a $3.2 million improvement in annual operating results over 10 years.

The merged entity would receive $5 million to fund transition costs such as IT changes, and an extra $10 million to improve community infrastructure.