Auditor parts ways with Coos Bay over `impaired' independence.

Byline: Winston Ross The Register-Guard

Coos Bay lost its auditor and $10,000 on Tuesday night, after a local certified public accountant decided to "disengage" from the process.

The auditor, Robert Wall, said in an interview that the city had "impaired" his independence, meaning officials had somehow tried to influence the audit's contents.

Wall declined to elaborate, but he did say the mayor and City Council were fully aware of the reason.

The city's action left Wall only two choices, he said: add a disclaimer to the audit, which could taint it enough that the city would have to pay higher interest rates on future bonds, or disengage. Wall has already been paid $10,000 of the $16,000 contract. Wall said he hadn't quit an audit in this way in 30 years as an accountant.

The audit, required by Oregon law, was due last month. Mayor Jeff McKeown said the state granted the city an extension.

"I told the city two weeks ago our preference was to disengage," Wall said. "For the last two and a half months, we've tried to resolve this."

At Tuesday night's council meeting, McKeown appointed an audit committee made up of councilors to choose a new accounting firm.

Sources close to the city said Tuesday that the dispute was about changes officials wanted to make to the audit, that Wall had asked for more money to take the time to accommodate those changes and that the city threatened to report Wall to the Oregon Society of CPAs for unethical behavior. The sources asked to remain anonymous for fear of retribution by city officials.

McKeown didn't explain why the auditor and the city had locked horns.

"There have been some differences of opinion on some procedural matters," McKeown said.