The true cost could be more, although Cr Vandervis has also paid back about $30,000 after unsuccessful court action.
Cr Vandervis faces possible censure from the council today for comments he made about Māori.
The estimated cost of the investigation for that is $11,680.
The complaint was laid by Cr Marie Laufiso and the council is set to decide whether Cr Vandervis materially breached the code of conduct.
Cr David Benson-Pope requested information about the cost of various code of conduct matters involving Cr Vandervis.
The council had a total figure of $139,203, but it only started recording costs in 2019 relating to code of conduct complaints and any resulting investigations.
By far the most costly dispute was one related to what Cr Vandervis described as a faulty parking meter.
An investigation found he had engaged in loud, intimidating and aggressive behaviour towards a staff member in 2019.
Cr Vandervis went to the High Court to seek a judicial review, which was declined, and then his attempt to have the council's decision set aside by the Court of Appeal was unsuccessful.
He then sought leave to appeal to the Supreme Court, but this was dismissed.
The cost to the council of all the action exceeded $100,000.
The courts awarded costs to the city council, adding up to $29,975.74, including GST and these had been recovered from Cr Vandervis, the council said.
In 2020, Cr Vandervis was found to have behaved in an intimidating way when he challenged a ruling made by then deputy mayor Christine Garey.
The cost of the investigation was more than $25,000.
The council said code of conduct complaints were also made against Cr Vandervis in 2011, 2013, 2014 and 2015.
In 2015, he was stripped of voting rights temporarily after he was found to have engaged in bullying and aggressive behaviour.
Cr Vandervis criticised the process as a "kangaroo court".
In 2022, he said he was concerned about the amount of money the council had spent on the parking matter, "but I had to act to protect my reputation and the council could have agreed at any time to undergo a fair process’’.
* This article has been updated after the ODT received more information.
