A New England council has referred one of the state's most expensive code of conduct investigations to the Office of Local Government, after five of seven councillors declared conflicts of interests in a vote to finalise the complaints.
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The investigation, which relates to eight complaints about conduct by Glen Innes Severn councillors, has already cost ratepayers at least $162,216.44.
A report based on the investigation was referred to council for "consideration and determination" during a closed council meeting on Thursday May 28.
But five of seven councillors declared conflicts of interest over the vote, denying the motion a quorum, minutes revealed last week reveal.
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Council staff have referred the complaints the Office of Local Government to determine whether there was misconduct and whether to mete out punishment.
In a statement, a spokesperson said OLG "does not comment publicly on matters it may or may not be investigating".
"In general terms, councils are not required to meet the costs of OLG determining code of conduct complaints," they said.
"Breaches by councillors can result in a range of penalties including counselling, reprimand, an order to undertake certain actions, suspension of payment of allowance, and suspension or disqualification from office."
Asked if the investigation report or the identity of any councillors censured would be made public, the spokesperson said "generally decisions are publicly released" either by the office itself or by the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal.
Mayor Carol Sparks and Deputy Mayor Dianne Newman joined councillors Smith, Parsons and Frendon who declared conflicts of interest.
Much of the detail of the code of conduct investigation remains confidential, including the number of councillors alleged to have breached the code.
A business paper released to the council in November revealed an independent review found there had been breaches of the code.
The process cost the council $162,216.44 to March 31, according to a report presented in April 2020.
According to the latest Office of Local Government figures prepared for the Your Council comparison site, all councils in the state combined spent $958,463 to investigate code of conduct complaints in 2017-18.
