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FINAL REPORT OF THE CITIZEN CHARTER REVIEW COMMITTEE <br />Two lay members of the Budget Committee were invited to a committee meeting to share their <br />thoughts on the usefulness of the service profiles. In addition, at the request of a member of the <br />committee, elected Portland City Auditor Gary Blackmer attended a committee meeting and <br />offered examples of audit work done in Portland. Mr. Blackmer discussed and clarified the <br />nature of the audit function in the City of Portland. He also noted that performance auditing. <br />standards are clearly defined in the Yellow Book, which is developed and improved by the US <br />Government Accounting Office (GAO). The committee also received correspondence from <br />Dean Stephens, the Lane County appointed auditor on these same topics. <br />Further research on municipal auditors was provided by committee members. The research <br />indicates that the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA), the American Society for <br />Public Administration (ASPA), Association of Government Accountants (AGA), International <br />City Managers Association (ICMA), the National Association of Local Government Auditors <br />(VALGA), and numerous other state municipal associations as well support the concept of a <br />municipal auditor. <br />The National Association of Local Government Auditors believes that audits of local government <br />programs, functions, activities, and organizations are essential. They believe as an integral part <br />of the governance process, the audit function plays a key role in providing accountability for <br />management's performance. The primary. mission of the auditor is to require an accounting of <br />the activities and accomplishments of the organization. As an integral part of the governance <br />process, the audit function plays a key responsibility role in providing accountability for <br />management's performance. <br />Refer to Appendix J, So... You Think You Might be Interested in Hiring a Performance Auditor, <br />for more information on performance auditors and Appendix K for guidelines for model <br />legislation related to performance auditors. <br />The trend for auditors has emerged because government officials, both elected and appointed, <br />have realized that an independent oversight function is particularly important because of the <br />unique relationship that government auditors have with their primary stakeholders, the taxpayers. <br />The taxpayers and, for the most part, elected representatives want assurance that their scarce tax <br />dollars are being protected by audit functions that operate with reasonable independence from the <br />supervisory chain. Anything less severely limits the credibility of the auditor in terms of the <br />public trust. <br />The committee believed that was a need for an audit function and also discussed a contracted <br />auditor versus and in-house City performance auditor. There are pros and cons to outsourcing <br />versus in-house. The committee determined that the auditor should be a part of the <br />organizational structure versus contracted out. In-house auditors can be more costly in terms of <br />FINAL REPORT OF THE CITIZEN CHARTER REVIEW COMMITTEE - JANUARY 14, 2002 Page 20 <br />