Improving the accountability & transparency of city government
In the May 13, 2018, issue of the Register-Guard, the editorial board writes:
Supporters of Eugene’s competing ballot measures to create a city auditor’s office justify the expense of their proposals by claiming that organizations save $3 to $5 for every dollar spent on auditing.
That may be true, but there must be a point of diminishing returns. Otherwise, Eugene could spend $1 billion on auditing, gain $3 billion to $5 billion, and send everyone a fat check.
In the May 13, 2018, issue of the Register-Guard, reporter Christian Hill writes:
Eugene has never had an election like this.
The dueling city auditor measures mark the first time in city history that both citizen-initiated and council-referred proposals on the same issue appear on the same ballot.
Both measures would change the city charter, the document that defines Eugene city government’s power and functions. Measure 20-283, the citizen-initiated proposal, establishes the office of an elected city auditor. The other proposal, Measure 20-287, requires the City Council to appoint both a city auditor and a citizen board to oversee his or her work.
Here’s some questions last-minute voters may have as they mark their ballots. …
In the May 12, 2018, issue of the Register-Guard, Eugene resident Ed Murphy writes in a letter:
We know there will be a continuous rotating roster of essential city services we will be asked to fund by increasing our own taxes. On the May 15 ballot, the city of Eugene wants to make a case for needing $55.25 million more for parks. I thought we were already funding essential services like that with our current taxes and stormwater fees. …
In the May 12, 2018, issue of the Register-Guard, Eugene resident Susan Wilson writes in a letter:
I fail to comprehend why a Eugene city auditor is necessary. Do not the City Council, mayor and city manager already perform that function? They should be the check and balance on each other, which ensures diligent and ethical city governance. If they are not performing their duties, then they need to be replaced. …
In the May 11, 2018, issue of the Register-Guard, Eugene resident Michael Carrigan writes in a letter:
The debate regarding the public auditor issue in Eugene is generating a lot of heat. This frequently happens in a community like ours that is passionate about its politics. However, as the election approaches, it is time for everyone to lower their voices and look at the issue on its merits. …
In the May 11, 2018, issue of the Register-Guard, Eugene resident Michael McCann writes in a letter:
Eugene’s not perfect, and there are a number of things that need our attention. We need a better downtown. We need a redeveloped riverfront. We need to fix our streets.
There are also things we don’t need. We don’t need an overpriced, ill-conceived auditor that takes money away from these other priorities. At a price of nearly $700,000 a year with no oversight or accountability, Measure 20-283 is certainly something we don’t need. Think of the things we could do with that money — five additional police officers, for instance. Or think of the things we will have to cut to pay for it: road repair, park maintenance or social services. …
In the May 10, 2018, issue of the Register-Guard, Eugene resident Bill Northrup writes in a letter:
I’m voting for 20-283, the Elected City Auditor plan.
While at first the initial salary seems high, it’s in line with many other capable leaders in Eugene government, whose expertise level is needed here as well.
Coming from outside of the city is okay with me, because it avoids favoritism.
I also like that they have a big budget because at least at the start they’ll have a lot of looking at to do and it’d be good to get lots of audits going to jump start it. …
In the May 8, 2018, issue of the Register-Guard, EWEB Commissioner Steve Mital writes in a letter:
The campaign for a Eugene city auditor stems from a perceived need for more robust checks and balances in our city government. Perhaps the most powerful tool for forcing accountability is independent, thorough, and thoughtful local investigative reporting.
Communities across the nation, including ours, have experienced dramatic declines in local print reporting. We will be better off as a community by re-committing to buying and reading the paper than with either city auditor measure. Nothing exposes laziness, incompetence, or corruption and mobilizes a response from elected officials as effectively as a front-page story.
In the May 8, 2018, issue of the Register-Guard, Eugene resident Finn Po writes in a letter:
For three months, hardworking volunteers gathered nearly 11,000 signatures to qualify Measure 20-283, the proposal for an elected Eugene city auditor. Fearing a fair yes-or-no vote, the mayor, city manager and five city councilors joined with moneyed interests to try to defeat it by proposing a distracting measure for a rubber-stamp appointed auditor measure — a lapdog masquerading as a watchdog. …
In the May 6, 2018, issue of the Register-Guard, Eugene resident Joy Marshall writes in a letter:
I have thoroughly read the proposal, Measure 20-283, for an elected auditor for Eugene, and I find it alarming.
I’ve been active in writing and vetting legislation for years. I’ve seen many an idea that seems appealing on the surface, but how it’s actually written is critical. This measure would encourage people to be adversarial and litigious. The whole message of the campaign is that we can’t trust government; it is anti-public-spirited as a time when we should be coming together with respect and reason.
I believe that’s why the League of Women Voters, both city unions (AFSCME and the firefighters), The Register-Guard and many other thoughtful voices oppose it. It is also ironic that the campaign doesn’t trust our current elected city councilors to do a good job, but somehow electing one more politician will fix all of our problems.
I urge voters to be thoughtful about what we put in our city charter, and vote no on 20-283.