The Palo Alto City Council’s Finance Committee moved Wednesday to reverse a recommendation it issued last week that would have dramatically downsized the Office of the City Auditor.
As part of its vote to recommend adoption of the Fiscal Year 2019 budget, the committee agreed to rescind its May 15 decision to eliminate five out of six positions in the Office of the City Auditor, leaving City Auditor Harriet Richardson as the office’s sole employee. The committee had also recommended using 80 percent of the savings from the position cuts to contract with outside firms for performance audits.
On Wednesday, the committee revisited its earlier recommendation after City Manager James Keene recommended taking more time to consider the staff cuts and after Richardson expressed major…
