Mayor’S Plan On Agenda - Later Discussion On Independent Auditor Put Off Until August Or September

Spokane Mayor John Talbott’s push for an independent auditor to monitor city finances will get a little older before it gets a full airing before the City Council.

As a candidate in 1997, Talbott said an independent auditor would improve the city’s credibility among residents by weeding out government waste. Only after that happens will taxpayers even consider paying more for street maintenance or other services, he said.

The topic made the City Council’s retreat agenda Monday, but it didn’t make for much of a discussion.

Council members delayed until late August or early September any meaningful conversation on the issue, saying they wanted to bring in experts to talk about the proposal’s pros and cons.

Monday’s retreat agenda listed Councilman Jeff Colliton as discussion leader. But Colliton began by saying any dialogue was meaningless until council members defined what they meant by “independent auditor.” They couldn’t do that until they’d heard from people on both sides of the issue, he said.

So instead of actually talking about the auditor post, council members spent about 15 minutes discussing when they could find time to talk about it.

Even that proved difficult. Council members’ busy schedules and a series of planned study sessions on the budget pushed the next available meeting date to August or September.

Talbott didn’t seem frustrated by the delay. In fact, he told his colleagues, he was “extremely pleased” about their willingness to have a study session on the topic.

The mayor has said the city needs to regain credibility before asking voters to spend more on streets.

City officials say streets need at least $50 million worth of repaving and rebuilding work.

While they didn’t discuss what steps they can take to raise local money for streets, council members did talk about how the state Legislature might help.

Consultant Helen Jones led the council and other elected officials, including county commissioners, through a three-hour discussion in which officials drafted a regional legislative agenda for transportation.

In the end, the group put improving access and increasing capacity of Interstate 90 at the top of a project priority list, followed by a north-south freeway. The regional leaders will meet later this fall to finalize the legislative agenda.

The city paid Jones $600 to lead the morning discussion and compile a report that details the session’s accomplishments.