Improving the accountability & transparency of city government
In the March 30, 2018, issue of the Register-Guard, Eugene resident Adam Fishman writes in a letter:
Nobody likes to be audited. It is stressful and time consuming, and distracts from business as usual. It is an unwelcome burden imposed by the IRS, internal procedures and external organizations. Who needs it?
We do. The citizens and taxpayers of Eugene. There are countless reasons why. You only have to look at the two measures on the ballot to see that most of Eugene agrees. …
In the March 26, 2018, issue of the Register-Guard, Eugene resident and former Eugene Ward 1 City Councilor George Brown writes in a letter:
Once again, Brian Wanty displays a serious misunderstanding of the role an elected auditor plays in city government (“Auditor hasn’t helped Portland,” March 22). …
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 March 24, 2018, issue of the Register-Guard, Eugene resident Jerry Diethelm writes in a letter:
Give the Eugene City Council credit for a clever and potentially effective strategy. If you can keep people arguing over the detailed differences in the two performance auditor proposals, they will be distracted from the larger strategic intent, which is to kill the project altogether. …
In the March 23, 2018, issue of the Register-Guard, Eugene resident Craig Starr writes in a letter:
Ballot Measure 20-283, proposing an elected Eugene city auditor, unnecessarily and improperly empowers the city auditor “to conduct audits … to determine whether … (c) the public is benefited by the activity.”
This plainly inserts the auditor into the legislative area of policy-making. It doesn’t, as proponents might reply, only empower the auditor to determine if an intended benefit was achieved, because that legitimate auditing goal already is separately expressed elsewhere. …
In the March 22, 2018, issue of the Register-Guard, Eugene resident Brian Wanty writes in a letter:
What are the consequences of having a city auditor? Portland has had a city auditor for 150 years. Whatever the effects an auditor has on a city should be fully achieved by now in Portland. …
In the March 22, 2018, issue of the Register-Guard, Eugene resident Richard Young writes in a letter:
Ballot Measure 20-283 (independent city auditor) is the tail wagging the dog to the delight of those who have fought for years to assert their bias over what they consider the bias of Eugene’s city manager, the mayor and city councilors. But let’s be clear: There’s no such thing as “unbiased” when it is an elected position doing the work. …
In the March 19, 2018, issue of the Register-Guard, reporter Christian Hill writes:
The campaign over dueling measures to establish a city auditor’s office is heating up weeks ahead of the May primary election.
Supporters of both measures are busy raising money. And last week, following a legal dispute, a Lane County judge finalized the ballot language that voters will read for one of the competing measures.. …
In the March 8, 2018, issue of the Register-Guard, Eugene resident Ruth Duemler writes in a letter:
I don’t understand. How could we believe that our Eugene City Council should select its own auditor? …
In the March 6, 2018, issue of the Register-Guard, Eugene resident and League of Women Voters of Lane County president Linda Lynch writes in a letter:
Since 1902, Oregon voters have been able to directly influence laws and government actions by petitioning to put measures on the ballot. As deadlines loom for the 2018 elections, signature gatherers are everywhere there is a crowd, clipboard in hand, asking, “Are you registered to vote?”
Before you sign, ask yourself: “What do I really know about the measure I am being asked to endorse?” …