The Shedd Institute
efforts with Lane County is intriguing and
might deliver multiple benefits including
cost-savings and measurably better out-
comes from better alignment between city
and county priorities.
In establishing a new position to build
community trust (sorely lacking lately at
every political level, alas), the devil is al-
ways going to be in the details. How we
do it will be critical to the success of this
important venture.
We should be careful to avoid a rush
forward willy-nilly to implement any one
person’s idea of how this should be struc-
tured.
I look forward to learning from other
communities what has worked well (and
hasn’t), and exploring our community’s
options so I can participate in a rational
discussion to select the best way forward
for Eugene.
Dawn Lesley
Eugene
NO CITY PROBLEM
As far as I can tell, Bonny Bettman Mc-
Cornack (Viewpoint, 6/29) is offering a
solution to a problem we don’t appear to
have. She claims that there is escalating
community distrust of city government,
a claim backed up by nothing. This is the
opposite of what I hear. In my experience
most everyone I know is proud that our
city government is so untainted by the kind
of corruption that plagues other cities in
our country.
This initiative only adds to the city bu-
reaucracy and an already strained budget,
and sows seeds of distrust and division in
the community. This is an issue that needs
to be discussed publicly and without ran-
cor to determine if we really need an inde-
pendent auditor or if there are other ways
to proceed if we do need one. Narrowing
the discussion to only one option is not
good policy.
David Funk
Eugene
www.theshedd.org - 541.434.7000
Shedd Theatricals 2017
FOLLOW THE MONEY
We are getting wonderful news about
the proposed civic performance audi-
tor. The proposed initiative plans have un-
doubtedly caused this.
And thanks to the mayor’s comments
and the public meeting with Gary Black-
man, the past elected performance auditor
from Portland, many are recognizing the
value of this service to the community.
We were close to getting that service
15 years ago from the city charter review
committee. Apparently the independence
of the auditor was still too threatening to
certain key people in the decision making
position.
Independence is the key word for the
description of this office, as Lane County
has discovered with the past three perfor-
mance auditors. As with the police auditor
of the city, the important issues are who will
hire, fire and direct the research and recom-
mendations of the auditor? Will the results
July 21-30 - The Shedd
Nothing
beats a
new pair of
comfortable
sandals!
Blue Roosters
Follow your feet to Footwise
for Birkenstock sandals
Friday, July 7 - 7:30 pm
Coming next at The Shedd
Downtown Eugene • 181 E Broadway • 541.342.6107
Footwise.com • Mon-Sat 10-6 & Sun 11-5
7.14 MTTA Summer 2017
Wouldn’t It Be Loverly
Musical Theatre in the ‘50s
7.21-30 Shedd Theatricals:
GOOD NEWS! (1927)
8.2-12 Oregon Festival of
American Music 2017
The Sweetest Melody
Giants of the Classic
Songbook
eugeneweekly.com • July 6, 2017
5