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Former city auditor and residents press council on audit independence, transparency
Summary
During public comment a former city auditor and others urged the City Council to ensure the internal auditor’s independence after a delayed annual audit plan and questioned whether 'leadership' had withheld agenda items; city management denied involvement and said the auditor reports to council.
Several speakers used the public-comment period to press the City Council on internal audit independence and transparency.
Steve Klepper, who identified himself as a former city auditor and District 2 resident, said the agenda memo for the annual audit plan (item 22) included a line that the plan was postponed by “leadership” and that the delay raised questions about organizational independence. Klepper said past auditors had short tenures and argued that organizational independence requires enabling the auditor to work without fear of retribution. “The underlying issue is independence,” Klepper said.
City Manager Peter Zanoni responded from the dais saying neither he nor the city’s deputy or assistant managers had removed the audit plan from the agenda and that the auditor reports to the mayor and council. “No one on the Fifth Floor had anything to do with the memo, nor have we withheld an agenda item relative to the audit,” Zanoni said.
Klepper urged council members to ask whether the organization sufficiently enables the auditor and staff to do their work without fear. Council members did not act on the remark at the time but the exchange framed later items and public expectations about audit scheduling and transparency.
The exchange also included a public explanation of the council’s public-comment and decorum rules by City Attorney Miles Risley before comments began.
