Jersey City Council Outraged Over 2025 Audit Findings: ‘This Is Criminal!’

For the people of Jersey City, the phrase “budget crisis” has become a familiar drumbeat. But today, inside the council caucus room, that drumbeat turned into a roar. At the center of it: a 290-page audit that paints a picture of a city whose financial house has been messy for years — and some council members aren’t hiding their anger.

“Somebody should be put in jail for this misappropriation of funds! This is criminal!” Ward F Councilman Frank “Educational” Gilmore shouted during the presentation. It was a raw moment, but the frustration behind it has been building for months.

Finance Director Bill Viqueira introduced Mark Bednarz, a partner at Donohue, Gironda, Doria & Tomkins, LLC, the firm that has audited the city for nearly two decades. Bednarz walked the council through findings that range from sloppy bookkeeping to potential bond violations. The audit was released Friday, but the public has had little time to digest it. Today’s meeting was the first chance for council members to ask questions — and they did, with sharp elbows.

The Audit’s Findings

Bednarz started with the basics: there are problems with internal controls. “There is a reasonable possibility that the internal controls are deficient enough that an error will not be detected,” he said. That’s accountant-speak for: the city’s financial safeguards aren’t strong enough to catch mistakes — or worse.

One of the biggest issues is the lack of a fixed-asset inventory. That means the city doesn’t have a clear record of what it owns, from vehicles to buildings to equipment. It’s been that way for years, Bednarz explained, and while there’s no legal requirement to update it, it makes tracking and budgeting a lot harder.

Then there’s the deferred charges — about $94 million left over from the previous administration, led by former Mayor Steven Fulop. The current administration has pointed to this as a key source of the city’s financial strain. It’s like starting a new year with a pile of unpaid bills from last year.

What Went Wrong

The audit also found that some departments weren’t on the same page about cash flow. “We had difficulty with some of the departments agreeing on the chain of cash flow,” Bednarz said. That’s a red flag: if departments can’t agree on how money moves, it’s hard to trust the numbers.

Then there were specific incidents: one employee had four hours of overtime that couldn’t be substantiated. A vendor was paid $86,000 when the council only approved $15,000. The Municipal Court couldn’t produce certain financial documents. And open purchase orders — basically spending that was approved but not yet paid — are piling up.

Bednarz noted that there were $500,000 in over-expenditures this year. That sounds bad, but it’s an improvement from $11 million the year before. Still, he stressed that monthly reconciliations would help the city stay on top of its finances, and the corrective action plan includes that recommendation.

For Jersey City Residents

If you’re a resident, this may feel abstract. But here’s what it means for you: every dollar that’s mismanaged is a dollar that could have gone to schools, parks, or public safety. It could also mean higher taxes or cut services down the road, especially as the city tries to close its budget gap.

More immediately, this audit is about trust. When your city’s financial records are a mess, it’s hard to know what’s true. And when council members talk about “criminal activity,” it raises questions about whether anyone will be held accountable. The public deserves answers, and today’s meeting was a step toward getting them.

What the Council Said

Councilman Gilmore didn’t hold back. He said there were “17 instances of what I’m going to say is criminal activity!” and called for the termination of city employees responsible for financial oversight. He also demanded the name of the overpaid vendor. “Provide it to the public!” he shouted.

Council President Denise Ridley was more measured but equally serious. “I’m going to ask that we take some time to review this,” she said. She added that the council would request the vendor information and consider scheduling a formal discussion in September. The audit can be accepted via resolution within 45 days, but Ridley suggested the council would wait until after they’ve reviewed the budget.

Fellow at-large councilman Michael Griffin suggested the city start doing monthly appropriations — a routine practice in many municipalities that helps close the books faster. Viqueira said that’s already part of the corrective action plan, and progress is being made.

What Comes Next

The council plans to put some audit items on the September agenda. They want to review the budget before adopting the corrective action plan. The administration is also proposing a request for proposals (RFP) to appraise and evaluate the city’s fixed assets — a step toward finally getting a clear picture of what the city owns.

For residents, the message is: watch the council meetings, read the audit if you can, and demand transparency. Sometimes money is hidden in paperwork. But as today’s meeting showed, there are people in City Hall who are willing to ask the hard questions.

This isn’t the end of the story. It’s the beginning of a process. And for Jersey City, that process has to start with honesty — about what went wrong, who’s responsible, and how to make sure it doesn’t happen again.