Improving the accountability & transparency of city government
In the April 29, 2018, issue of the Register-Guard, reporter Dylan Darling writes:
A new website offers insight into how the city of Eugene spends money.
Visitors to eugene-or.gov/openbudget will find financial information available to view as charts and graphs. …
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, Eugene resident Scott Bartlett writes in a letter:
Measure 20-283, for an elected city auditor, offers Eugeneans our loudest message to City Hall. Oops — well, we used to have a City Hall before it was replaced by an empty crushed concrete pit, fanning city offices throughout town at $1.3 million taxpayer funded rents per year. …
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 April 25, 2018, issue of the Register-Guard, Eugene resident Lisa-Marie Divincent in a letter:
I respectfully invite Nicole Leseney to read Measure 20-283 again. Her April 24 letter (“Who audits the auditor?”) is either a disingenuous attempt to scare people or she’s sadly misinformed. …
In the April 24, 2018, issue of the Register-Guard, Eugene resident Nicole Leseney in a letter:
Do you want to get paid almost $170,000 a year, work from wherever you want (Hawaii? Aspen?), get a raise whenever other officials do — even if you haven’t done anything to earn it, and have a nice staff that answers only to you? If so, run for the Eugene elected auditor position under Measure 20-283 and win the job. …
In the April 24, 2018, issue of the Register-Guard, Eugene resident Julie Daniel in a letter:
A Eugene city auditor is a good idea too long in coming, but Measure 20-283 is just too flawed to support.
Regrettably, 20-283 petitioners avoided public scrutiny by developing their measure behind closed doors. Major changes to the City Charter should be carefully evaluated in public before going before voters to avoid such problems. …
In the April 24, 2018, issue of the Register-Guard, Eugene resident Rosemary Mulligan in a letter:
Voting no on both Eugene city auditor proposals would be a good choice in my opinion. The two choices both seem to have flaws. They sell the idea that the auditor could have prevented the City Hall muddle. Auditors are hired only to make sure the city is spending the money on the earmarked city projects wisely and efficiently. The expense is considerable. A better proposal could be presented at a later date if it is deemed necessary. The money would be better spent on more police protection, after school programs, etc.
In the April 24, 2018, issue of the Register-Guard, Eugene resident Margie James in a letter:
I find it interesting that Citizens for Sensible Auditing, the group supporting the Eugene City Council’s auditor measure, doesn’t even pretend to be making a case for the city’s proposal. The group seems to be focusing all its efforts on defeating Measure 20-283, the citizens’ initiative, though limiting that to a few yard signs that say “No Overpriced City Auditor.” …