An event designed to attract ute lovers to the West Coast – and then ditched after just one year – has cost ratepayers $77,000.

Westland District councillors Helen Lash, Gray Eatwell, Jane Neale and Des Routhan have been battling to find out the cost of the inaugural South Island Ute Muster, organised by council-owned entity Destination Westland, since it was held at Hokitika Racecourse in March 2018.

Destination Westland later canned the 2019 event because it was not financially viable.

It cost $28.62 to enter, with a prize of $10,000 given to the owner of the best ute. Activities included time trials, movies, drag races, an obstacle course and a street parade.

Figures released under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act (LGOIMA) show the event cost $96,196 and ran at a loss of $77,357. Sponsorship yielded $4522. This is despite councillors being told in a report from council chief executive Simon Bastion in July 2018 it had run at a $10,000 loss and had secured $25,000 in sponsorship. 

Bastion told Stuff he had been given those figures by the then chief executive of Destination Westland, Trevor Wilcox. 

Wilcox, who has since left the organisation, said he was promised contributions from council-owned entities and sponsorship, which had not eventuated. 

He said he "fully believed that money was coming" and ran the event in good faith.

Lash said councillors did approve the ute muster concept at a meeting in December 2017. However, she said one of the conditions was for a budget forecast to be brought back to councillors, which never happened. 

She only found out from an August 2019 letter from Destination Westland acting chief executive Melanie Anderson to Westland Holdings chairwoman Joanne Conroy, released under the LGOIMA, that a budget had been seen by mayor Bruce Smith, council's corporate services manager Lesley Crichton and Bastion in January 2018. It showed a deficit of $62,000.

Westland Holdings is another council-owned entity, which oversees Destination Westland.

Lash said the budget should have been forwarded to councillors, and if it had, the event would not have been approved.  

Anderson's letter said a revised budget was developed "following communication from council", which had the event making a profit of $245. The revised budget included a $20,000 contribution from Westland Holdings, council picking up the tab for wages, and a $25,000 contribution from Hokitika Airport – another council-owned entity now merged into Destination Westland. It also included a $25,000 anonymous sponsor. 

In reality, neither Westland Holdings nor Hokitika Airport contributed anything to the event. 

Anderson's letter to Westland Holdings said there was no memorandum of understanding or contract between council and Destination Westland for the event.

It said Westland Holdings sent an email in February 2018 to Destination Westland promising a grant of $20,000, but this never came to fruition. 

Wilcox said the email came from then chairman of Westland Holdings Graeme King. King told Stuff he did not recall promising the money.

He said, from his recollection, he had asked for more information and then left the role in March 2018. He said the request was for seed funding, which would have been repaid when the event made a profit. 

In an email seen by Stuff, dated January 24, 2018, King told then directors of Westland Holdings and councillors Des Routhan and David Carruthers that Smith and Bastion had asked Westland Holdings to contribute $20,000 to get the event up and running. Both Routhan and Carruthers both responded they were "uncomfortable" about the contribution.

The Westland Holdings board changed during 2018 and Wilcox said he only became aware Westland Holdings' money was not coming when the invoice went unpaid. 

The budget shows Destination Westland spent $17,136 on advertising, $3454 on the bar, $20,000 on contractors and $23,000 on wages.

Smith said while he was disappointed it had run at a loss, he had no concerns about the running of the event. It attracted more than 150 utes and visitors to Westland during the shoulder season, he said. He hoped to resurrect the event for 2020 if re-elected. 

It was not up to councillors to approve or get involved in the day-to-day business of council-owned entities, Smith said. He said while "technically" ratepayers money, the loss would be borne by Destination Westland. 

Lash said she had written to Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta to complain about the handling of the event's finances and the lack of transparency. 

Mahuta is considering appointing a Crown observer to oversee the Westland District Council over concerns about Smith's decision to build a stopbank without consulting councillors or following procurement policies. 

The ute muster's financial situation will be discussed at the last council meeting on September 26.