In the May 18, 2018, issue of the Register-Guard, Eugene Budget Committee member Joshua Skov writes in a letter:
I would like to thank the proponents of measures 20-283 and 20-287 for their campaigns in support of a Eugene city auditor. Although both measures lost, they showed a significant appetite for accountability and transparency.
Those attempts are past, but the work continues. As a member of the Eugene Budget Committee, I will attend the committee’s four public meetings this month to participate in the review of the city manager’s proposed 2018-19 budget. Like my fellow citizen members and the eight councilors on the committee, I will continue to push for a clearer connection between the aims we articulate and the way we spend our money. I hope we continue to hear from the public as well.
Each auditor measure would have represented a change to our form of local government. There are many changes we might consider. Some are simple refinements, while others would be profound transformations.
I hope everyone in Eugene continues to strive for more open, responsive and responsible government. I hope that the council, in particular, returns early and often to the question of what we must do to inspire public confidence in government and to fulfill our aspirations as a community.