The city of Glendale, Ariz. has eliminated its internal auditor position, in a move that some say will reduce accountability of city business, but city leaders insist will strengthen it.
The Glendale City Council voted 5-2 on Tuesday to eliminate the auditor position and instead use only outside contractors to perform audits. A new manager and audit committee, made of three council members and two residents, will oversee the new program. Councilmen Jamie Aldama and Bart Turner were the opposing votes.
The last audit the current internal auditor, Candace MacLeod, performed looked at city employees’ credit card purchases. The audit pointed out how Mayor Jerry Weiers failed to properly document his Europe trip in a timely manner, and at first charged the city for his wife’s expenses. MacLeod had held the position since 2001.
Internal Audit positions are usually eliminated so a few can do fraud and abuse the systems