There are two statewide ballot propositions this election but voters in the City of Syracuse will see a third ballot proposition when they head to the polls.
The Syracuse ballot proposition concerns the office of the elected Auditor of the city. It allows the City Auditor to subpoena other departments, including the mayor's office, and allows them to hire independent counsel.
Auditor Nader Maroun said the language for the city auditor role in the city charter was written in 1960 when documentation was all paper copies. He wants to update the role to have access to documents digitally, saying it's necessary to complete audits in a timely manner.
"Sometimes administrations in the past will delay the response to your request and not necessarily provide the data that you need to conduct a properly substantive audit," Maroun said.
Minch Lewis, who served as the City of Syracuse auditor from 1995 — 2003, has some concerns over the proposition. He worries it could create the potential for more political gridlock.
"There are things that can be done better in government, but those are things that need to be worked out between the city auditor, the Common Council, and the mayor's office in a cooperative fashion," Lewis said. "The city auditor should be an asset, really an advisor in an advisory, not an adversarial role in city government."
Lewis said he believes this would turn an auditor into an investigator.
"Auditors are not investigators," Lewis said. "They review the details of transactions, but if they uncover something that requires an investigation, then by auditing standards they're required to report that, refer that issue to a proper investigative body and not conduct the investigation themselves."
But Maroun thinks otherwise.
"Everything we do is investigating in what is going on, not in a negative sense, but in a positive way, on behalf of the taxpayer," Maroun said. "We're in here to do the people's business, and everything should be transparent. And it's public information, it's public documentation, it's public records. We should have access to those."
Election Day is November 7.
