When asked, Tim Quilty agreed council had misled ratepayers.

“The short answer is yes,” he said.

Cr Quilty said the Ombudsman’s “damning” report would impact the community’s trust in council and council staff. 

"We say we've been transparent but I don’t think we were particularly transparent, the information was there if someone looked hard enough for it but we didn’t make a big story about it,” he said.

Libby Hall hopes the controversy will lead to a “a new era” of transparency.

“I have continually asked if there was any further information we as councillors needed to know,” she said.

Kat Bennett, Danny Lowe and John Watson did not respond to inquiries.