Charter Review Committee directs staff to draft language creating a chartered city auditor and stronger audit body

The Glendale Charter Review Committee on July 2 voted to ask staff to draft a charter amendment that would establish an office of the city auditor and enshrine a strengthened audit committee in the charter.

The committee’s motion, which passed on a roll-call vote, directs staff to return with draft language modeled on the presentation’s framework: a chartered city auditor position with civil-service protections and a dual reporting relationship to the city manager and an audit commission; an audit body empowered to develop and approve an annual audit work plan; and requirements for annual public reporting of audit findings. The motion does not prescribe a fixed staffing level for the office; staff told the committee the charter mandate would create an obligation for funding but specific headcount and resourcing would be set through the city’s personnel and budget processes.

Assistant City Manager (presentation) said staff was not making a recommendation for a single model but outlined four options, including creating a city auditor and giving the audit body a more formal role in approving the risk assessment and audit plan. “I want to make it clear I’m not making a recommendation one way or another,” the assistant city manager told the committee as the staff report surveyed regional models and the practices of charter cities.

Public commenters pushed the committee toward stronger independence. Resident Herbert Molano, who provided a packet to committee members, criticized what he described as decades of underresourcing, saying the city’s “general fund has tripled since the year 2000” and urging stronger contract and overtime oversight. Another speaker, Anie Kosh, pointed to past prosecutions and said the city needs “independence and transparency” to prevent abuses.

Committee discussion focused on how to balance legal independence with practical oversight. Members debated whether the auditor should be appointed or elected, whether the audit body should have subpoena-style powers to compel documents (or another legal mechanism to obtain third-party records), and how to ensure the office could not be eliminated or defunded by routine staffing changes. Several members said the charter should require the audit office and committee to produce an annual report to the council and public, and to have protections and processes similar to those that apply to the Civil Service Commission.

Staff said an office established by charter would carry civil-service protections that make termination or removal more difficult without council involvement, and that the city would continue to use external auditors for required financial audits in addition to an internal audit function.

The committee directed staff to prepare draft charter language and return to the committee for review. Members set a target to complete the review and a compendium of recommended charter changes by late summer, with staff noting that the council would review the committee’s compiled recommendations before any ballot or formal charter amendment step.

What’s next: staff will draft language reflecting the committee’s direction and circulate it for committee markup before sending a consolidated recommendation to city council. The item will return to the Charter Review Committee for further review and public comment prior to any formal council action.