The president of the League of Women Voters claims that the city already has an auditor. And that is true. But that is a financial auditor. And it is required of a city to have one. The numbers balance, and money is spent legally. 

A performance auditor gives advice to the council — and manager — on ways that they can do their job better and maybe even save money in the process. How the city can give citizens better service is the real question.

For instance, should the police department have more officers, or could they do as good a job with the present staff? Could a performance audit by an outsider assist them to do a better job? Or should they “audit” themselves?

Should a police audit simply count the number of people in the city and its relation to number of staff? Should we just compare ourselves to other different cities? Are there new ideas that could be implemented to police the city that they haven’t thought of yet?

It’s like hiring a consultant. But our elected auditor would know all the city departments, not just the police department.

Bob Cassidy

Eugene