In the February 26, 2018, issue of the Register-Guard, Eugene resident Carol L. Scherer writes in a letter:
I attended two January work sessions of the Eugene City Council that focused on formulating a measure for an appointed auditor as an alternative to the independent elected auditor, Measure 20-283, even though in December the council decided not to pursue a conflicting measure.
But in January, an influential group brought forth a rough proposal for an appointed auditor and the council decided to put taxpayer-funded city attorneys to work on the influential group’s proposal.
I realized that this expedited, privileged process was exactly what would happen if there were an auditor-lite, city-controlled appointed auditor as proposed by the influential group — the taxpayers would have no voice and no representation and it would be a waste.
Lane County Commissioner Pete Sorenson, who supports the elected auditor Measure 20-283, pointed out that the cost (0.1 percent of the $677 million city budget) isn’t much more than the cost of the Eugene police auditor ($500,000) whose extremely limited scope of work recoups no money. Research shows governments can save four to five dollars for each dollar invested in auditors.
We have government by the powerful and influential at the national level. We shouldn’t have it at the local level.