Eugene weekly., March 30, 2017, Page 6, Image 6

B Y H E N RY H O U S TO N
AUDITING CITY HALL
Charter amendment would establish independent auditor’s office to save city money
A
large calendar sits on Bonny McCornack’s din-
ner table. She looks at it, expecting a long pro-
cess ahead for submitting a ballot measure to the
city of Eugene. McCornack says she’s not sure
whether the ballot title — to be written by the
city attorney — will need to be appealed, which could hold
off this measure’s appearance on a ballot or even force it to
appear on a low-voter-turnout election.
She worries because this, she says, is a ballot measure
the city of Eugene doesn’t want passed.
McCornack, a former Eugene Ward 1 city councilor,
along with three other residents, plans to file a ballot mea-
sure for a city charter amendment to create an Office of
Independent Audits. An elected auditor would lead this of-
fice, which would review all city operations.
Proponents need to collect 8,091 signatures — 15 per-
cent of the votes cast for mayor — in 90 days to get the
measure on a future ballot.
If the measure passes, the auditor would conduct per-
formance, financial or any other form of review necessary
to investigate reports of fraud, waste or abuse, McCornack
says.
The purpose of the auditor’s position, she tells Eugene
Weekly, is to assist the Eugene City Council, residents and
city officials in working toward a more accountable and
transparent government. An auditor, she says, can help the
city spend its money more effectively.
“Pretty much everybody agrees that if you can get in
there and provide services more efficiently without waste
and abuse, and cost-effectively, you can save money,” she
says. “So you’re getting 100-percent service for every dol-
lar you’re spending.”
The lead auditor would be an elected position, she says,
giving the office independence from city hall. “There has to
be a firewall between management and the auditor. The only
way to do that is to have them elected,” McCornack says.
The charter amendment would also provide an anony-
mous hotline for residents to report any observed fraud and
abuse to an auditor.
McCornack refers to a 2016 report issued by the Asso-
ciation of Certified Fraud Examiners stating that a typical
organization loses about 5 percent of its annual revenues to
fraud; anonymous hotlines have been instrumental in re-
porting this to auditors.
“It may not be that high, but it’s there and has to be ad-
dressed,” McCornack says.
The elected auditor would be a full-time position with
a small staff. The new jobs would be paid for from city
funds, drawing less than .12 percent of the city’s operating
budget, she says.
Gary Blackmer contributed some advice to the group
in Eugene working on this charter amendment. Blackmer
retired as Oregon State Auditor in 2015 after 30 years of
public auditing with the city of Portland as well as Mult-
nomah County. In his experience, he says, audit offices in
governments not only save money but also save lives.
“This charter involves looking at performance audit-
ing,” Blackmer says. “It’s how to address problems. It’s
more about fine-tuning organizations. The key role is mak-
ing government better. Auditors are the last bastions of in-
dependent trust.”
The auditors rely upon social-scientific methods to in-
form their decisions, he adds. Through evidence gathering,
data collection and conducting interviews, auditors make
recommendations on how to find solutions to problems
within government departments.
“Agencies trust auditors,” Blackmer explains. “They’ll
ask for auditors to look at something. It may not be good
news, but it can make it into a good program.”
If this passes, he adds, Eugene would join more than
250 cities such as Oakland, Long Beach and Portland in
having an Office of Independent Audits.
“It has the added advantage with transparency and ac-
countability,” McCornack says. “Now you’re helping to
restore trust between local government and voters.”
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March 30, 2017 • eugeneweekly.com