Improving the accountability & transparency of city government
In the April 7, 2017, issue of the Register-Guard, reporter Christian Hill writes:
Three Eugene residents, including two former city councilors, are seeking to qualify for a future ballot a measure that would create an independently elected city auditor as a check on city government spending and operations. …
In the March 30, 2017, issue of the Eugene Weekly, reporter Henry Houston writes:
A large calendar sits on Bonny McCornack’s dinner table. She looks at it, expecting a long process ahead for submitting a ballot measure to the city of Eugene. McCornack says she’s not sure whether the ballot title — to be written by the city attorney — will need to be appealed, which could hold off this measure’s appearance on a ballot or even force it to appear on a low-voter-turnout election. …
In the December 22, 2016, issue of the Eugene Weekly, reporter Ben Ricker writes:
… “We need to restore the sense that the city is being responsible with tax dollars,” [Eugene Mayor Lucy] Vinis says. …
In the October 25, 2016, issue of the Register-Guard, retired building contractor David Monk and two-term Eugene city councilor Bonny Bettman McCornack write in a guest viewpoint:
Eugene’s trajectory is dictated by hundreds of seemingly small human decisions that snowball into an avalanche of controversy and distrust. Those decisions are made by the mayor and city councilors, who frequently run unopposed. …
In the October 17,2016, issue of the Register-Guard, the editorial board writes:
… Skov says many Eugene residents have lost faith in local government. He wants to hire or elect a performance auditor, who would report to the council, not the city manager. The auditor would examine the effectiveness of programs and spending, including examining best practices elsewhere. A citizen group recommended such a position in 2002, he said. Skov also wants to see public, annual reviews of the city manager’s performance and more budget transparency. It’s hard to tell currently where and how much money is spent on various priorities such as livable neighborhoods, Skov says. He also wants to look into Campaign Zero, a national movement to end police violence, to see if there are measures that should be implemented here. …
In the September 22, 2015, issue of the Register-Guard, staff write:
Lane County’s recently appointed performance auditor, Shanda Miller, will host five “meet the auditor” sessions, beginning Wednesday from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at Malabon Elementary School, 1380 Taney St. in Eugene. …
In the August 19, 2015, issue of the Register-Guard, reporter Saul Hubbard writes:
Lane County Auditor Shanda Miller will conduct an in-depth review of the county’s cash-strapped mental health care division during her first full fiscal year on the job. …
On March 9, 2015, Karen Richards of KLCC reported:
Lane County’s new internal auditor, Shanda Miller, started her job in mid-February. She was introduced to the public and the board of commissioners last week. …
In the March 9, 2015, issue of the Register-Guard, reporter Elon Glucklich writes:
Lane County has hired an internal performance auditor to track the county’s use of taxpayer funds and monitor its progress toward meeting department goals, five years after the county’s last auditor retired. …
The Lane County commissioners on Tuesday unanimously approved hiring a new internal auditor for county government, a position that’s been vacant since 2010. …