In the May 10, 2018, issue of the Eugene Weekly, John Barofsky and Joshua Skov write in a guest viewpoint:
As long-time volunteers who watch Eugene’s city government closely, we want a strong and effective performance auditor. That’s why we’re supporting measure 20-287, and not 20-283.
The best way to understand how 20-287 will be more effective is to start with the way Eugene’s government currently works. We have a voice in one simple way: We elect eight councilors and a mayor, and they direct the city manager.
Everyone else in city government works for the city manager. All small spending decisions, the preparation of the budget, the maintenance of our streets and parks, hiring and firing of staff — all of that falls to the city manager and his executive staff. You may not like it, but that is our form of government — so-called council-manager form — and it’s written into the city charter. …