BOYNTON BEACH, FL (Boca Post) (Copyright © 2026) — The City of Boynton Beach pushed back Friday against recent reporting about its budget, saying updated financial forecasts are a routine part of municipal financial management and not evidence of deception.
The city’s response, posted May 23, 2026, followed a Palm Beach Post article published May 22 under the headline, “Boynton official says on video city has $4.9M deficit, then denies it.” The article was written by data reporter Chris Persaud and focused on comments attributed to Boynton Beach City Manager Dan Dugger.
In its public statement, the city said the reporting “does not fully reflect how municipal budgeting and financial forecasting work.”
“Updating projections throughout the fiscal year is a routine and necessary part of responsible financial management used by governments across the country,” the city wrote. “Revenues, expenditures, economic conditions, and operational needs evolve throughout the year, and forecasts are adjusted accordingly to maintain transparency and fiscal responsibility.”
The city also took a sharp tone toward the article’s framing, writing that “the funniest part of the article is the implication that updating financial forecasts is somehow evidence of deception.”
“By that logic, every hurricane cone is a conspiracy,” the city wrote.
The statement comes as Boynton Beach residents continue to follow questions around the city’s budget, layoffs and public records access. The city did not provide a new budget figure in the post, but defended the practice of revising projections during the fiscal year as conditions change.
The city also addressed public records requests, saying claims that Boynton Beach is not fulfilling records requests fail to acknowledge outstanding public records invoices.
According to the city’s statement, unpaid public records invoices exceed $3,000. A screenshot included with the city’s post shows a public records request labeled “General Public Records Request” with reference number R057207-052026 and a notice stating that “Data Reporter Chris Persaud has an outstanding balance due of $3,133.88.”
The request shown in the screenshot lists a create date of May 20, 2026, at 4:13 p.m.
“Under Florida law and established City procedures, extensive public records requests that require significant staff time and resources may require payment prior to records production being completed,” the city wrote.
The city said it remains committed to transparency, accountability and providing accurate information to residents through public meetings, budget workshops and established public records processes.
The city’s Facebook post also drew public reaction. One commenter wrote that residents are not questioning whether governments update forecasts, but whether residents are receiving “timely, accurate, and transparent information explaining those changes.” Another commenter wrote that the city’s response read like “the government telling us to trust them.”
The exchange reflects a broader dispute over how Boynton Beach is explaining its financial position to residents, how its budget forecasts are being presented publicly, and how public records requests connected to the reporting are being handled.
As of the city’s May 23 statement, the city’s position is that changing budget projections are part of ordinary municipal forecasting and that at least some requested records have not been produced because invoices tied to extensive records requests remain unpaid.
For ongoing coverage of city decisions and development, visit Boynton Beach News.
