Draft of job description for new police auditor divides council.

Byline: CITY BEAT/EUGENE By Edward Russo The Register-Guard

It can take a lot of energy to write a job description. Just ask the City Council and the Eugene Police Commission.

Last week, city councilors tinkered with the job description of the yet-to-be-hired auditor who will monitor the investigation of complaints against police officers. The fine-tuning featured rhetorical fireworks and a tie-breaking vote by Mayor Kitty Piercy.

In November, Eugene voters changed the city charter to give the council the authority to hire the auditor. The auditor proposal came about mainly in response to sex crimes committed by two police officers.

Many residents endorsed the auditor proposal. Yet the ballot measure debate split along two lines: Supporters thought the oversight of misconduct investigations against police would be more credible if the council hired the auditor; opponents wanted the city manager to make the hire.

Some opponents worried that giving the council hiring authority would start to unravel Eugene's form of government, in which the council sets policy and the manager carries it out. Until now, the city manager has hired all city employees, except the municipal court judge.

Last week, the fight flared again when councilors received the recommended job description and qualifications from a committee made up of Piercy, Councilors Andrea Ortiz and Jennifer Solomon, and police commission Chairman Tim Laue.

The job description and qualifications are to be used to recruit and hire the auditor, perhaps this fall. Based on the pay of auditors elsewhere, the council is prepared to offer a salary of $97,556 to $106,508.

The auditor would supervise two or three staff members. But the auditor would not have the ability to hire or fire them. The committee, following a city attorney's opinion, recommended that the city manager keep that power.

During Wednesday's review, City Councilor Bonny Bettman said that if the auditor couldn't hire or fire the staff, he wouldn't have the ability to manage his employees.

"I don't believe that is consistent with what the public expected when they approved the ballot measure," she said.

The auditor's duties should include hiring the staff, Bettman proposed. But other councilors were reluctant to go along.

Councilor Chris Pryor said the proposal could lead the city astray. Councilors shouldn't give the appearance that they want to "create a parallel government structure," he said.

Bettman's proposal failed on a 3-5 vote, with Ortiz playing a decisive role. Ortiz worked with Bettman to pass the ballot measure. But Ortiz voted against Bettman's hiring idea, along with Councilors Gary Pape, George Poling, Solomon and Pryor.

The auditor's job duties include participating in employee hirings, supervising staff and having a say in employee evaluations, Ortiz said. "I'm not that invested in who is boss," she said.

Councilors then moved on to another touchy topic: the auditor's job qualifications.

The auditor should know about police operations, procedures, interviewing techniques, rules of evidence and many other things, the job description said.

But job candidates may not have "recent background or affiliations" with the Eugene Police Department "that would hamper their ability to be neutral and objective in performing their duties as police auditor," the proposed description said.

That disqualification raised the hackles of some councilors, who thought it could eliminate talented candidates. They also didn't like the word "recent," which they thought was vague.

Poling, a retired Lane County sheriff's sergeant, wondered if "affiliation" would disqualify someone who was a teenage cadet with the police department years ago but then went on to become a lawyer or some other professional.

Councilor David Kelly said he was "very surprised" by the objections.

The auditor must be perceived as being independent of the police department or else the public could be skeptical of the auditor's work, he said.

To dispel the vagueness around the word "recent," Kelly proposed that if someone had worked for EPD more than 20 years ago, they could be considered. Anyone with more recent department experience wouldn't be looked at.

Bettman wanted to expand the pool of noncandidates to include Lane County Sheriff's department employees because they can work with EPD officers. "We probably should include Springfield, too," she said.

Her idea got nowhere with the rest of the councilors, including Kelly.

An upset Pape said eliminating candidates because of their possible association with EPD was "discriminatory."

"I'm, frankly, offended by it," he said.

With time running out on their meeting, councilors had to vote.

Kelly, Bettman, Ortiz and Councilor Betty Taylor voted for the 20-year waiting period. Pape, Poling, Pryor and Solomon voted against it. Without comment, Mayor Kitty Piercy broke the 4-4 tie in favor of Kelly's proposal.

Councilors are scheduled to resume their deliberations about the auditor on March 15.