Under state law, the auditor has access to taxpayer-specific information only if a review is specifically requested by a locality’s director of finance.

“We’re good with where things are today,” Chief Administrative Officer Selena Cuffee-Glenn said during last week’s meeting.

By the end of the week, a City Council member had begun the process of putting forward a resolution backing the auditor in the dispute.

A majority of council members said they would support the resolution, and one publicly expressed “embarrassment” at the situation.

During a budget hearing Monday, the issue again resurfaced. Council members pushed Wack, the finance director, to explain his opposition to the audit. That prompted Wack to accuse staff members in the auditor’s office of misusing taxpayer data in the past.

He did not elaborate or offer any other comments to support his claim.

Dalal, who had said he didn’t know what Wack was referring to, said Tuesday that he didn’t believe anyone in his office acted improperly.