Improving the accountability & transparency of city government
In the March 1, 2018, issue of the Eugene Weekly, Eugene resident David Ivan Piccioni writes in a letter:
Would you willingly submit to an assessor or auditor regarding all of your proceedings if you were in any kind of public office? You’d have to be quite confident in your character to reply in the affirmative. …
In the February 27, 2018, issue of the Register-Guard, Eugene resident Bob Cassidy writes in a letter:
George Brown, former Eugene city councilor, said it right (“Need full-time council and auditor,” Feb. 21). He has also said that the elected performance auditor can be an asset to the city manager and council. It can help them do their job better —which is the main purpose of the auditor. …
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. …
In the February 24, 2018, issue of the Register-Guard, Eugene residents Amy Isler & Frank Gibson write in a letter:
We support Measure 20-283, which would create an elected, independent auditor for the city of Eugene. We were not happy to hear that the City Council muddied the waters by asking to appoint its own auditor. …
In the February 22, 2018, issue of the Register-Guard, reporter Christian Hill writes:
Lane County has picked a new performance auditor to search out potential problems and inefficiencies in the county government. …
In the February 21, 2018, issue of the Register-Guard, Eugene resident and former Eugene Ward 1 City Councilor George Brown writes in a letter:
I agree with Brian Wanty’s Feb. 8 guest viewpoint, which says Eugene needs a full-time City Council. But when he claims that we don’t need an independent, elected financial and performance auditor, he betrays a misunderstanding of how an auditor’s office really functions. …
On February 16, 2018, Eugene Mayor Lucy Vinis blogs:
Council made critical steps this week on three key issues. … Council also voted to send an alternative auditor measure to the ballot. I recognize that this decision is disappointing to proponents of the citizen initiative, Measure 20-283 who are passionate and deeply invested in their proposal. It does not feel good to have others question the merits of that work; but this is a significant public policy decision and I, and a majority of council, agree that the public should have the opportunity to choose which model is the best fit for our city. …
In the February 13, 2018, issue of the Register-Guard, reporter Christian Hill writes:
Eugene city councilors on Monday referred three high-profile measures to the May 15 ballot, presenting voters with a competing charter amendment for a proposed city auditor’s office and asking them to pay higher taxes to improve the city’s parks and recreation system. …
In the February 8, 2018, issue of the Eugene Weekly, Eugene resident Susan Brenner writes in a letter:
It is my understanding that the Eugene City Council is considering adding an alternative auditor measure for the May ballot, to join the original measure which garnered 10,000 signatures (and to be transparent, including mine) and met all city requirements for the process. This was not an easy or quick process.
Now another group of citizens has bypassed the whole initiative process and convinced the City Council to put their own measure (dubbed auditor-lite) on the same ballot. Would it not be more open and democratic to allow the people to vote on the original, up or down, without adding competition? …
In the February 8, 2018, issue of the Register-Guard, Eugene resident and independent policy researcher Brian Wanty writes in a guest viewpoint:
Eugene residents have a lot of pent-up frustration with city government. Several major policy failures have fostered two charter amendments that would create auditor positions. Many want to avoid future fiascoes such as the costly collapse of the City Hall rebuild, the oversized and unlawful South Willamette Special Area Zone, and the 2013 monthly fee measure that voters defeated by a 2-to-1 ratio. There is also hostility toward the wasteful Multi-Unit Property Tax Exemption. …