Natalie Lovell had more than a decade of experience with Colorado Springs before she was appointed city auditor in March. Lovell was an auditor in the office and helped manage the accounting for Colorado Springs Utilities since 2016. According to the city website, she is certified as a construction industry financial professional and project management professional.

One qualification Lovell does not have is her certification in public accounting, or CPA, which city ordinance states as a requirement for the job.

Her appointment by the Colorado Springs City Council in March was contingent on Lovell receiving her CPA in Colorado in the next two years. A new proposal before the City Council would cut that requirement entirely, which has raised questions about the recent hiring process.

The ordinance is officially recommended by the Human Resources Department but was brought forward by Lovell during a broader review of the standards of the auditor’s office. Lovell told the City Council on Monday that many cities the size of Colorado Springs did not require the certification for the role and the position had many nonfinancial duties.

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“It needs to be strategic in nature. It needs to be focused on risks,” Lovell said. “I believe that this can be accomplished in a lot of ways, not just with a certification but with relevant background experience.”

City staff declined to provide The Gazette an additional interview with Lovell “since this is an ongoing matter before City Council.”

Dennis Nester was Colorado Springs’ city auditor from 2000 until 2020. Nester warned City Council in an email over the weekend about his concerns in changing the requirement.

Nester said he felt that the CPA certification was the “gold standard” that a department leader should hold. A certification in public accounting is the one accounting license regulated by the Colorado Board of Accountancy. It requires a test every two years to show expertise across a broad range of accounting issues.

The bigger issue for him, though, was the appearance of how the process played out. Nester said the auditor’s role was to provide independent oversight over the finances and effectiveness of all other city departments.

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“If I was a councilmember, I would want the city auditor to be above reproach, and this just doesn’t sound like that,” Nester said.

Lovell told councilmembers that the requirement was likely a remnant from a time when the city auditor was the person issuing official financial statements for Colorado Springs. With an independent firm now taking the lead on those reviews, Lovell said the job had grown to make other duties more important.

Lovell was appointed to the position following a national search after Jackie Rowland retired as city auditor at the start of the year. Lovell said keeping the requirement could discourage future applicants from applying for the auditor position.

Councilmember Dave Donelson argued the other side of that point, saying changing the policy now was unfair to candidates who may not have applied or been selected for the job this year because they lacked a CPA.

The proposed change was broadly supported by other councilmembers who spoke Monday. Officials said they appreciated Lovell’s experience with the city and viewed her leadership as more important than the pure financial side.

“Actually having the certification, it wasn’t a deal-killer,” Councilmember David Leinweber said. “We made the exception because we felt like we need someone who can be more of a leader than someone who can count well.”

Councilmember Nancy Henjum asked how many other employees in the department did have a CPA. Lovell said at least two of the senior auditors did.

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Cities across Colorado vary in how they approach the requirements for the job. In Denver, the city auditor is an elected position and candidates are not officially required to have any expertise to run for the office. Wellington Webb, for instance, was elected city auditor in 1987 without formal accounting experience before his successful campaign to be mayor of Denver.

The current Denver auditor, Timothy O’Brien, has extensive qualifications including a CPA and a stint as Colorado’s state auditor.

Aurora’s city code says the city manager will select the city auditor “based on experience and education suitable for the professional performance of municipal internal audits.”

Colorado Springs City Council is expected to vote on the proposed ordinance in August.