Newcastle councillors have censured independent Kath Elliott for leaking how much rent the organisation is paying at its new offices.
An independent investigator found Cr Elliott had breached the Office of Local Government's code of conduct in October last year by revealing confidential information to the media.
In an NBN News item on the costs of the council's move to Newcastle West, Cr Elliott said: "It's about $3 million a year. That's not an exact figure. And the lord mayor can't tell me what I can and can't say to the people whose money it belongs to."
It is not clear from the edited footage what Cr Elliott is referring to when she mentions the "$3 million" amount, but the investigator found she had "quoted a figure which was higher than that included in the confidential report" presented to councillors on the costs.
"Quoting a figure that was higher than the actual amount had the potential to cause harm to Council's reputation and to mislead the constituency," the investigator's report found.
"Further, it had the potential to place Council at risk of breaching a commercial contract to which they were a party."
Cr Elliott had shown a "knowing disregard for her obligations as a Councillor with respect to the protection, use and maintenance of confidential information".
The council made public details of the 15-year lease soon after Cr Elliott's interview and after the building's landlord waived his right to commercial confidentiality.
In a statement on its website on October 21, 2019, the council said the new offices would cost $2.08 million in rent, $482,509 a year in outgoings and $272,250 annually for 99 car spaces.
The statement forecast that this $2.835 million annual total would be offset by subletting surplus office space for $500,000, for a net expense of $2.335 million.
The council has not yet sublet the surplus space, but the Newcastle Herald understands a deal is imminent.
A majority of councillors voted in confidential session on Tuesday night to formally censure Cr Elliott.
Labor's Cr Matt Byrne said on Wednesday that Cr Elliott had been found to be a "leaker and a liar".
"This incident shows that Councillor Elliott cannot be trusted by the people of Newcastle," Cr Byrne said in a statement issued by his Labor colleagues.
"Cr Elliott can't be trusted by journalists because she makes up figures as she goes in order to score cheap political points.
"Newcastle deserves Councillors that are willing to debate complicated matters based on fact, not those that pander to conspiracy theorists with their own set of incorrect, exaggerated and misleading statistics."
Cr Elliott said on Wednesday that the public had a right to know where its money was being spent.
"The new council premises are the biggest liability we have on our books.
"Why, once the lease was signed, did it need to be kept a secret? It's public money.
"In saying about $3 million a year for the lease, and clarifying that this was an approximate figure in my interview with NBN, I was recalling the figure in the lease document, which is recorded as exactly $2,809,972.
"With CPI over 15 years, my figure of $3 million was not a lie."
She said the council had not been transparent.
"It wasn't until I argued for people's right to know that Labor subsequently released figures which were lower than what was in the lease.
"I presume they had deducted a sublease which at the time I was interviewed was unconfirmed and I believe is still vacant."
It is not the first time Cr Elliott has been censured in the chamber in her first term.
Earlier this year, an investigator found she had breached the code of conduct by verbally abusing chief executive Jeremy Bath during a council workshop.
The consultant's confidential report alleged Cr Elliott had told Mr Bath she was "sick of the way you run this f---ing joint" and that she thought he was "doing the lord mayor's bidding".
Cr Elliott has been the subject of at least a dozen code-of-conduct complaints.
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