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Titusville council makes internal auditor a charter position but keeps reporting lines intact for now
Summary
After discussion about draft reports, confidentiality and independence, council voted to transition the city internal auditor to a charter position while maintaining current reporting to the city manager and ensuring council receives audit reports simultaneously and may meet with the auditor.
Council debated the appropriate structure for the city internal auditor on March 10, focusing on independence, access to draft reports, and the risk of politicization if the position were subject to removal by a simple majority of the council.
Members described one‑on‑one meetings with the auditor as valuable and cited concerns that in past practice audit reports had gone to the city manager without simultaneous distribution to council. The city attorney explained legal constraints: drafts of active investigations remain exempt from public‑records disclosure until presented to the governing body. City staff said the auditor’s products are independent, that management provides a management response and that a final, disseminated report is the public document.
Member Stokel moved that the internal auditor transition to being a charter position and that councilors be included on distribution when reports go to the city manager; the motion also preserved the auditor’s formal reporting to the city manager but gave councilors the autonomy to meet with the auditor directly. The motion passed on roll call.
Council discussed procedural safeguards, including considering ordinances that might require a supermajority to hire or fire an auditor, to reduce the risk of politicization if future councils change composition.
