City Auditor Joseph Pratt said yesterday he intends to retire early next year rather than compete for the job he has held for 23 years.
Pratt's job security was shaken by an order filed by Councilor Bruce Tobey soon after the municipal elections, which directed the personnel director to "conduct a search for candidates" for auditor.
Tobey, who says he has secured pledges from enough of the incoming councilors to elect him as council president, said the new council should be able to pick its own auditor.
In Gloucester's charter, the auditor and city clerk's offices are under the authority of the council.
Pratt's last two years were haunted by a new financial management software package that failed to simplify controls over revenues and expenditures, leaving Pratt to give explanations when often there weren't any.
The city failed to qualify for free cash in each of the past three years in part due to difficulties in knowing what was on the books at the end of a fiscal year.
Pratt, 62, said, "If I've got to apply for the job again, it's time to retire."
