Proposition 6
(Eliminate Auditing Committee References)
Ballot Title
Shall the Seattle City Charter be amended to eliminate references to the Auditing Committee in order to conform with current financial practices, and shall the heading of Article VIII of said charter be changed, Article VIII, Section 13 of said charter be deleted, and Article XVII, Section 3 of said charter be amended, accordingly?
Voter-Pamphlet Explanation
The Charter as it Exists Now
Article 8 of the Charter establishes the City Department of Finance. However, that article also deals with various other City financial and clerical functions as well.
Section 13 of Article 8 creates an "Auditing Committee" consisting of the Mayor, the City Council President, the Chair of the City Council Finance Committee and the City Comptroller. The stated role of this committee is to "examine all claims and demands against the City" and make recommendations to the City Council about which of those claims and demands should be allowed.
Article 17 of the Charter deals with salaries, bonds and vacations for City officers and employees. Section 3 of Article 17 currently requires that the bonds of certain salaried officers of the City be approved by the Auditing Committee.
The Auditing Committee provisions do not conform with current City financial practices and have not been utilized for a number of years. In addition, the elective office of City Comptroller was abolished by a 1991 Charter amendment.
The Effect of the Proposition if Adopted
The City Charter would be amended as follows:
(1) The title of Article 8 would be changed from "Department of Finance" to "Financial and Clerical" to more accurately and completely describe its contents.
(2) Section 13 of Article 8, which creates the Auditing Committee, would be deleted.
(3) That part of Section 3 of Article 17 which requires that the bonds of certain salaried officers of the City be approved by the Auditing Committee would be deleted.