Perth Amboy residents press council over delayed 2026 budget and costly water repairs

Perth Amboy residents used the public‑comment period at the May 13 city council meeting to demand answers about why the administration has not yet introduced a 2026 municipal budget and to press officials on long‑running water‑system problems.

"Why has the budget not been introduced and adopted? What is preventing completion of the process?" asked Junior Iglesia, a resident and taxpayer, during the public portion. Iglesia added that the city "has already authorized approximately $26,000,000 in emergency temporary appropriation this year," and told council members they should release a proposed budget for public review and move toward adoption without further delay.

The concerns extended to the city's water utility. Resident and council member Sharon Hubbard, speaking in the public section, said several residents had been denied handicap‑parking modifications and tied the topic to federal civil‑rights laws; later in the meeting she warned that the water utility's debt load could be unsustainable, saying authorized borrowing "over 200,000,000" would be difficult for the utility to repay from user revenues.

An administration representative responded that the delay was caused in part by a recent change in the business administrator and that the administration, the chief financial officer and auditors are working with state officials to prepare a "statutorily correct" budget. The representative told the meeting the administration hoped to provide the budget to the council "in a few weeks." (Attribution to the administration in this article uses the meeting label "Administration representative" because the speaker did not state a full name in the transcript.)

Residents and longtime attendees stressed the statutory deadlines under the Faulkner Act and said lack of a presented budget hampered public oversight. "The Faulkner Act governs the information with regards to the release of the budget," said Ken Gonzales, who told the council the mayor's office is required to present the budget by Feb. 28 and the council to present it publicly by March 31.

Council members and the administration resisted characterizing the delay as political avoidance. An administration official said the temporary‑budget process allows the city to continue operations while staff completes a full, auditable budget and emphasized the intent to present a responsible plan rather than rush a flawed document.

What happens next: council members said they will receive the administration's proposed budget once it is completed, and public‑meeting follow‑up (department hearings and line‑by‑line review) will be scheduled once council has that document. The meeting adjourned without the council adopting a final 2026 budget; the administration's timeline remains "a few weeks" from the May 13 meeting.

Provenance: This article draws on public comments and administration replies from the May 13 meeting (topic start SEG 577; topic end SEG 803).