In the July 12, 2018, issue of the Eugene Weekly, staff write:

The city auditor story in Eugene is a tale of power, personalities and probably fear of what an independent elected auditor might find and suggest. It was no surprise that Councilor Betty Taylor’s motion to put a new elected auditor measure on the November ballot failed July 9 with only two votes, hers and Emily Semple’s (see our story at eugeneweekly.com). Most of the players say the Eugene voters clearly want some kind of auditor, considering the votes for the two measures on the May ballot, and other anecdotal evidence. But it seems unlikely that a truly effective auditor, like so many other cities have, will spring from this mayor, manager and staff and City Council. What’s the next step?

In the July 5, 2018, issue of the Eugene Weekly, staff write:

Councilor Betty Taylor plans to make a motion on July 9 to give her fellow Eugene city councilors the chance to offer voters a straight up or down vote in November on an independent elected city auditor. Her proposal will be slightly modified, she says, to meet some of the objections to the elected auditor proposal that lost in May. For instance, a residency requirement will be added, and the cost formula will be modified. Taylor and many others believe the elected auditor lost in May because the City Council put an appointed auditor measure on the ballot, splitting the vote or causing voters to say “no” to both, as The Register-Guard recommended, in the confusion. We wonder how this council will vote on Taylor’s motion.

In the May 17, 2018, issue of the Eugene Weekly, staff write:

Eugene won’t have an auditor — elected or otherwise — following Tuesday’s election. But the fact that nearly half of voters supported Measure 20-283 shows a crisis of confidence in the City Council. If councilors were doing their jobs and overseeing the city manager, no one would be talking about performance audits. What defeated the elected auditor was the council’s “auditor lite” initiative, which lost overwhelmingly but bled just enough support from 20-283 to be sure that neither proposal passed.

In the May 10, 2018, issue of the Eugene Weekly, staff write:

One last word from us on the elected auditor measure on the May 15 ballot: Opponents of Measure 20-283 complain it was drafted behind closed doors with no public process, but it’s actually the product of decades of discussion in public meetings and even at City Club of Eugene. The final language of the measure was crafted by a group of well-informed, civic-minded folks, including two exceptional former city councilors, Bonny Bettman McCornack and George Brown. The measure reflects massive research into auditor best practices around the country and was refined to fit with Eugene’s form of government. Guiding the process was auditing expert Gary Blackmer, former auditor for the state of Oregon and the city of Portland. …

In the May 3, 2018, issue of the Eugene Weekly, staff write:

The newly arrived Eugene Voters’ Pamphlet is overwhelming, and it’s hard to imagine anyone plowing through all the arguments regarding elected vs. appointed auditors. One of the persistent arguments we see against the elected auditor Measure 20-283 is that it’s too expensive and the cost would fund five police or firefighter positions. Well, auditors consistently pay for themselves by finding efficiencies. An auditor might suggest that a dozen city positions could be eliminated by better managing shifts, overtime, turnover and training. Or an auditor might find that hiring more people in some departments could eliminate expensive contracted services. But to be effective, auditing offices must be adequately funded and independent from the city services being audited.