The Princeton City Council will consider conducting a forensic audit of the municipal government, said Erin Mudie, director of marketing and communications.
Mayor Eugene Escobar Jr. had posted online that he was “receiving extreme pushback” on placing two items on the council’s public agenda.
“The first item is a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for a forensic audit,” Escobar said in posts on Wednesday, Feb. 5. “This is a standard process to ensure financial accountability and transparency within our city.”
He continued, “However, they are insisting that council must have the discussion of an audit before it can be placed on the agenda. This is not how the process works according to our city council by-laws.”
In response to a question from The Princeton Herald, Mudie said Thursday, Feb. 6, “The city is not opposed to placing a forensic audit on the public agenda and has already scheduled that item for our Feb. 10, 2025, council meeting.”
Escobar’s second request was for a public presentation of the city manager’s accomplishments over the past 12 months.
“I believe the residents of Princeton deserve to know what has been achieved under his leadership,” the mayor said. “They only want to have these discussions in executive session.”
Councilmembers voted unanimously Jan. 5, 2024, to hire Mike Mashburn, an assistant city manager in Farmers Branch, to succeed Derek Borg, who resigned in October 2023.
Mudie said the mayor’s second request “was for a personal evaluation of an employee to be made public.”
She replied, “This decision is up to the employee (and would apply to all/any employee) and will not occur.” However, she added, “The city is not opposed to making an annual progress presentation on the efforts of all departments.”
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