The city of Princeton's budget for the upcoming fiscal year doesn't include funds for a full forensic audit into how taxpayer money has been spent — despite community pushback.
The Princeton city council voted to approve a budget of about $152.7 in expenditures and to maintain a property tax rate of $0.44 per $100 of a home’s value. Home values in Princeton went up, so homeowners will likely see higher tax bills despite the property tax rate staying the same. The city’s budget will raise about 18% more in property tax revenue than the previous fiscal year, about $2.3 million according to the city’s budget proposal.
Council members Christina Todd and Terrance Johnson voted against the budget and tax rate, citing residents’ calls for a forensic audit of all city departments and their spending.
Johnson called the lack of funds for the audit an embarrassment.
“There has been no compromise in my eight months of serving up here for the residents,” he said. “And everyone up here continues to say how they represent the residents, I believe that you all forgot your oath and what our position is, is to oversight.”
The Princeton Herald reported Princeton's Community Development Corporation approved funding earlier this year for a forensic audit of the spending on the Steven and Judy Deffibaugh Community Center. The Community Development Corporation bought a former Methodist church and renovated it from 2015 to 2022 for the community center. The center was closed in March last year for repairs that are expected to finish in a few weeks.
Princeton resident Teresa McGuinness claimed at a city council budget workshop in June that the city overcharged people for water and wastewater services. McGuinness also pointed to other concerns about discrepancies with impact fees.
“We are talking $20 million between these completely different city departments, which justifies a full forensic audit of the whole city,” she said.
Councilmember Ben Long said the city doesn't have the funds for a forensic audit of all of its departments. Long said the budget barely has enough money to pay for essential services.
“Right now, there’s nothing out of this but that we can really get rid of,” he said. “We can’t relocate funds. Everything we take a fund from is harming that service, is haring that department, because everybody's already operating at such minimal budgets.”
Princeton is the fastest-growing city in the nation, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Long said commercial development hasn't caught up with residential growth, which would mean budget increases would also raise property taxes.
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