Improving the accountability & transparency of city government
In the May 18, 2018, issue of the Register-Guard, Don Kahle writes in a column:
Eugene won’t be getting an auditor, but people still want auditing. I hope our leaders will respect — fear, if they must — the lawn sign consensus that was mounted for an elected city auditor. Nobody knew how the vote would turn out. Once you feel shivers being sent up it, you know where your spine is.
Even though both auditor measures failed at the polls, Eugene is begging its leaders: Don’t do nothing. …
In the May 10, 2018, issue of the Eugene Weekly, Bonny Bettman McCornack writes in a guest viewpoint:
If you want to save money and have open and accountable government, do your pocketbook and our democracy a favor and vote “Yes” on Ballot Measure 20-283. …
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. …
In the April 29, 2018, issue of the Register-Guard, Joy Marshall and Laurie Trieger, who are Eugene activists in the fields of health care, workers’ rights, public education and good government, write in a guest viewpoint:
On May 15, Eugene voters will decide whether to establish a city “performance auditor.” A performance auditor would review, well, performance; these audits, if done well, could help the city figure out ways to improve and streamline services. Here’s why we care about it. …
In the April 29, 2018, issue of the Register-Guard, former City Councilors Paul Nicholson and George Brown, with the assistance of neighborhood leader David Monk and former City Councilor Bonny Bettman McCornack, write in a guest viewpoint:
It’s been 16 years since a Eugene city auditor was first proposed. Now it’s time to make it happen.
Ballot Measure 20-283 asks voters to “establish an office of an elected City Auditor to independently audit city operations and activities.” This measure authorizes the independent elected auditor’s office to conduct financial, compliance, performance, special studies or any other type of audit of all aspects of city government operations and expenditures. …
In the April 27, 2018, issue of the Register-Guard, Don Kahle writes in a column:
I like the idea of a Eugene city auditor. I see merit in having that person appointed by, and responsible to, the Eugene City Council. It made sense to me in 2002, when a charter review committee recommended it. It makes even more sense to me now — 16 years, eight city councils, three mayors, and four city managers later. Better late than never is the usual rule — but never” in this case may be the better alternative. …
In the March 29, 2018, issue of the Eugene Weekly, retired Business Oregon regional business development officer Bob Warren writes in a guest viewpoint:
It’s been five years since the Eugene City Council tore down the Eugene City Hall for no apparent reason.
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In the March 26,2018, issue of the Register-Guard, Eugene Mayor Lucy Vinis writes in a guest viewpoint:
… Also on the ballot are two measures proposing very different options for a city auditor: one calls for an elected auditor who would form a third branch of city government, the other calls for an auditor appointed by the City Council and overseen by a citizen committee. Both are efforts to assure taxpayers that public resources are well spent to produce desired outcomes.
The questions for voters: Which is the better fit for our community? What are we trying to accomplish? Are we creating an auditor to investigate past mistakes, or to review current practices as a path to improvement? …
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. …
In the January 24, 2018, issue of the Register-Guard, Eugene’s independent police auditor Mark Gissiner writes in a guest viewpoint:
Recent discussions of the ballot measure that would create a Eugene performance auditor’s office have briefly mentioned our office, the Eugene Independent Police Auditor. This is an opportunity to remind people of our department’s extensive police oversight role. …