Belfast City Council's contentious £1million fuel hardship fund has caused "reputational damage", the Alliance Party has warned.
It has written to the council's chief executive seeking a meeting to discuss fresh concerns over the scheme, which distributed vouchers of up to £100 to help with household energy bills.
The roll-out during the winter was labelled "Dickensian" after reports of people queueing for hours in a bid to receive the payments which were allocated on a "first come, first served" basis.
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Nine "partner organisations" were appointed to administer the scheme, which had also faced criticism after the council enabled households earning up to £60,000 a year to apply.
The Audit Office has since requested sight of a council report examining the practice of using partner organisations to distribute hardship funding.
Alliance councillor Emmet McDonough-Brown, chair of the council's Strategic Policy and Resources Committee, wrote to chief executive John Walsh listing issues experienced by some constituents.
He said one applicant to the scheme in East Belfast was considered ineligible as they paid their bills by direct debit, despite this not being among the criteria.
The councillor also raised concerns over how the scheme was advertised in some communities, and said some groups "unilaterally" reduced the voucher value to £50 to support more people.
Mr McDonough-Brown warned the high income threshold and an "absence of needs-testing" meant there was a "significant risk" the scheme did not help those most in need.
In his letter, he said: "The scheme which was agreed by Sinn Féin/DUP – in the face of opposition from other parties – was too broadly drawn in order to provide confidence that ratepayers' money was well targeted and comes in the context of increasing rates on households and businesses and an ongoing cost-of-living crisis."
He added: "We are in favour of supporting those in need – it should go without saying – but the establishment of need is critical to ensure public money ends up with those who need it most."
Mr McDonough-Brown said it was "inarguable that there will be reputational damage to the council".
"Ratepayers were not equitably treated in the management of this fund, and as a council we cannot be certain support was targeted to maximise impact," he added.
"We would like to meet in order to discuss these concerns in further detail, and would welcome your commitment to complete the investigation into this scheme at the earliest opportunity and publish its findings on the council's website."
Sinn Féin has previously defended the scheme, saying that community organisations "have gone above and beyond" to help those in need during the pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis.
"Community workers and organisations work to improve our communities on a daily basis and they operate to the highest standards," a spokesperson added.
"Councillors should support the fantastic job that these community organisations do, instead of seeking to undermine them."
The council had said: "Members agreed at council that roll-out of the fund should begin as soon as possible, and that partner organisations would be responsible for highlighting and communicating information about the scheme within their own areas."
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