SUGAR LAND, Texas – The city of Sugar Land has decided to hire an independent auditor to review the integrity of the financial analysis done by city workers on the annexation of the New Territory and Greatwood communities.
The hire comes about two weeks after a councilmember raised concerns about the analysis in a public meeting.
Numbers, projections, and assumptions were the topic of the meeting when discussion came to the annexation.
At the public hearing earlier this month City Councilmember Mary Joyce called the analysis into question, claiming that about $4 million of projected tax revenue from the two new communities disappeared, fearing that Sugar Land residents would have to make up the difference.
"During this budget process I became concerned that things weren't adding up," Joyce said.
City workers defended the numbers in tonight's council meeting but several councilmembers still had concerns so in the end the council hired an independent auditor to assess the financial analysis.
"I think the public deserves to get the truth and the transparency as to what caused the drop," Joyce said.
Sugar Land Mayor Joe Zimmerman also weighed in on the issue.
"We want to re-establish that confidence. We want to re-establish that transparency," Zimmerman said. "I have the utmost confidence in the city manager and the staff those numbers are correct."
The council hired Whitley Penn, LLP to conduct the audit which is expected to be completed sometime next month.
The annexation of New Territory and Greatwood is scheduled to take place on Dec. 12.