Christine Norton, Warren County treasurer, told the Finance and Budget Committee that the county’s 2024 year-end review shows a shrinking cushion in the general fund and several cost pressures local officials cannot control. "There was a 12% decrease in our general fund unappropriated balance," Norton said, adding that New York state unfunded mandates and other required expenditures were large drivers.

Norton said nearly $1.9 million of a line-item she discussed — psychiatric costs tied to so-called 730 exams — accounted for a large share of recent increases. "Of the 1,900,000, that was mentioned above, 79% of that is our psychiatric 7 30 exams. We have no control over it. Literally, Warren County has 0 control over these expenses. It's New York state mandated," she said.

The treasurer also reviewed operational items that affected 2024 results: a $21 million bond issuance that drew from the general fund, $480,000 in safety-related spending for the Department of Public Works, and approximately $2.7 million in additional DPW equipment and road work. Norton said bond counsel fees of about $67,000 and other unbudgeted items reduced reserve flexibility.

Norton described changes to sales-tax budgeting that will tighten future results. "Several past practices was that we always budgeted the future years sales tax based on 2 years ago actuals. ... Go forward, we've made a budget decision to change that," she said, noting 2025 was budgeted using 2024 actuals plus projections. Norton said the county also anticipates roughly $1 million in short-term-rental sales-tax revenue under New York State legislation but cautioned that the new tax regime and platform cooperation remain uncertain.

On cash flow, Norton said the county carried an uncollected tax levy of about $12 million at the end of 2024 and that installment-policy compliance will be enforced in 2026 to improve collections. She said accounts receivable older than 90 days totaled about $2.6 million, with roughly $1.5 million more than a year past due.

Norton summarized other year-end items: the county successfully spent roughly $12.2 million of ARPA funds and avoided returning money to the federal government; sales tax increased by about $1.2 million in 2024; and occupancy tax collections rose about 4% after improved enforcement and a software lift.

Auditors from Drescher & Malecki identified internal-control recommendations related to overtime and timekeeping. Norton said the county is implementing a countywide time-management system and revising written policies to address those recommendations.

Supervisors asked for more explanatory detail in future variance reports. "If there's gonna be a report like this, there should be something that also explains some of the causes and some of the countermeasures," Supervisor (unnamed) said during discussion. Norton said she will work with department heads and auditors to incorporate explanations and corrective steps.

Norton framed the report as an effort to give supervisors and the administrator earlier warning about risks and to prompt proactive mitigation. "Our goal is to proactively inform you of that so that the supervisors and the administrator ... can look at these variances, understand the risk and proactively mitigate them," she said.

The treasurer's office will continue monthly variance reporting and follow up with department heads — including the Sheriff and DPW heads — for further detail on overages and transfers to capital projects.

Ending: Norton recommended continuing stringent budget management and using reserve and restricted fund balances where appropriate instead of drawing from the unappropriated fund balance. She offered treasurer's office support to supervisors and department heads to identify budgetary sources and to increase transparency around state-driven costs such as 730 exams.