Improving the accountability & transparency of city government
In the February 5, 2018, issue of the Register-Guard, 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 (including, to be transparent, mine) and met all city requirements for the process. This was not an easy or quick process. …
In the February 5, 2018, issue of the Register-Guard, Eugene resident Rich Locke writes in a letter:
My business and 50 others are being unfairly assessed a fee from the Eugene Toxic Right to Know program. …
In the February 1, 2018, issue of the Eugene Weekly, staff write:
The Eugene City Council is looking to refer a competing city auditor measure to the May ballot, but it will be drafted by the anti-auditor city manager and city attorney, so expect it to have an inadequate budget at best, and correspondingly little impact. Citizens for Sensible Oversight, who kick-started this effort, complain that Measure 20-283 already on the ballot is too expensive and would cost taxpayers “nearly $700,000 every year,” but Eugene Police Auditor Mark Gissiner notes in a recent Register-Guard op-ed that his budget is $530,000 “or less than 1 cent per capita per day.” The Measure 20-283 auditor and his or her staff would have vastly more responsibility and impact than the police auditor. Eugene is becoming a real city and we need well-funded and substantial independent auditing of all city departments. Police auditors cost money; city auditors with the right resources can save taxpayers millions. City Accountability has a fundraiser, Blues for Ballot Measure 20-283, planned for 7 pm Friday, Feb. 2, at Tsunami Books.
In the January 29, 2018, issue of the Register-Guard, Corvallis resident Charle Lee Crawford Jr. writes in a letter:
In his Jan, 24 guest viewpoint, “Police auditor department has distinct function,” Mark Gissiner goes to great lengths, I assume, to explain how effective the Eugene Independent Police Auditor’s office and staff are. He attempts to make it sound as if that model would be acceptable instead of a totally autonomous auditor’s office and staff for the spending of taxpayer dollars. …
In the January 28, 2018, issue of the Register-Guard, reporter Christian Hill writes:
Does the city of Eugene need an auditor to provide deeper scrutiny of city operations? The question is all the buzz in Eugene civic circles. …
In the January 27, 2018, issue of the Register-Guard, Eugene resident James McGean writes in a letter:
Is an independent city performance auditor truly needed?
The proponents of the proposal for creation of an independent performance auditor seem to believe the question no longer remains if an independent auditor is needed, and have shifted their focus to urging voters to approve their measure that will appear on the May ballot. …
In the January 27, 2018, issue of the Register-Guard, Eugene resident Mark Weintraub writes in a letter:
Regarding Measure 20-283 and opposition to the charter amendment proposed by Citizens for Sensible Oversight:
The Eugene City Council’s recent vote to direct city staff to draft a proposed charter amendment to compete with Measure 20-283 on the May 2018 ballot was disappointing and troubling. The measure qualified for the ballot because of the efforts of Eugene residents who believe it is necessary to ensure that the city spends taxpayer dollars efficiently and honestly. The petitioners’ hard work deserves our city leaders’ respect. …
In the January 27, 2018, issue of the Register-Guard, Eugene resident Laura A. Hammond, who the community relations director for the City of Eugene, writes in a letter:
Some have asked about a recent notice seeking volunteers to write an argument in opposition to an upcoming ballot measure. The city is legally required by Eugene code to post this notice. The purpose is to ensure both sides of a proposed measure have an equal opportunity to be represented in the Voters’ Pamphlet. …
On January 25, 2018, Eugene Mayor Lucy Vinis blogs:
Monday this week found Council hosting a robust public forum with 48 speakers who addressed more than a dozen topics. These ranged from calls for divestment from banks involved with fossil fuel extraction and production; calls to proceed with implementing a railroad quiet zone, to concern about the proliferation of marijuana retailers downtown, and urging council to move forward in reviewing the code changes for secondary dwelling units. We also heard from both citizen groups advocating for a city auditor function — the petitioners who placed the independent auditor initiative on the ballot and the citizens who drafted an alternative measure that they hope the council will finalize into a ballot measure. Council voted on Wednesday to direct staff to draft a final ballot measure based on the amended language for the alternative proposal. The final version of that measure will return to Council on February 12th, when we will vote whether to submit it for the May election. …
In the January 25, 2018, issue of the Register-Guard, Eugene resident Richard A. Sundt writes in a letter:
“Government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth,” said Abraham Lincoln in 1863. But thanks to our mayor and city staff, democratic government has, 155 years later, perished in Eugene.
It should outrage all Eugeneans, no matter their views regarding the independent-auditor ballot measure. A notice placed by the city in a recent Register-Guard is requesting volunteers “to write an argument in opposition” to this citizen initiative for the Voters’ Pamphlet. …