A Northland farming leader has taken out an ad in his local paper claiming the Kaipara District Council is bankrupt and the council should resign.
The operations director of Farmers of New Zealand, Bill Guest, says the small council is now nearly $90 million in debt.
Mr Guest, who lost his seat on the council after campaigning on the basis that it was financially incompetent, says a law firm's report vindicates his stance.
The Simpson Grierson report has revealed the council's process for levying $9 million in rates for a Mangawhai sewerage scheme was illegal.
Mr Guest says Kaipara rates will have to go up 20% to get the council solvent again and it should be replaced immediately with a commissioner.
