In the April 24, 2018, issue of the Register-Guard, Eugene resident Richard Young writes in a letter:
Let’s sort this out. First, the claim that Eugene Measure 20-283 is people power. So was the election of President Trump. Sometimes people don’t know who they are giving power to.
Second, the claim that surveys confirm that the city auditor profession saves $3 to $5 for every dollar spent on them. If true, it must include appointed city auditors as well as elected ones. Unfortunately, I can’t find any surveys verifying that city auditors, as a profession, have achieved that goal, as opposed to some claiming they can do that. A claim is not an achievement. Have we learned nothing from Trump’s Mexican wall?
Third, where is there an example of a strong city-manager form of municipal governance that also has an elected city auditor? I can’t find any. And if there is one, how’s it working out?
Fourth, why is Eugene so corrupt that a city auditor review committee, selected by the elected city council, is cronyism, but a performance review committee selected by the independent city auditor, to review her own work, isn’t?
The ballot only specifies that the group reviewing the elected city auditor’s performance utilize “generally recognized guidelines specific to local government auditing.” That’s comforting.