The Conroe Industrial Development Corporation on Oct. 23 received a September treasurer’s report showing the authority finished the fiscal year with what staff described as roughly $141 million in total liabilities and a year-to-date operating loss.

The report, presented by a CIDC finance staff member identified in the meeting as Ms. Gibbs, said the organization’s cash balance was about $1 million and investments were about $34 million. The unrestricted fund balance was reported at about $33 million and the total fund balance about $54 million. For the fiscal year to date, revenue was reported at roughly $19 million while expenditures were approximately $21 million, producing a year-to-date loss of about $1 million.

The report also noted a line described in the documents as an advance to a prior-period government of roughly $16 million tied to the downtown hotel project. Board members asked whether that $16 million would be recovered and how an inability to collect would affect CIDC’s financial statements.

“Depending on how all of that is resolved … if you think that you’re not going to get the $16 million back, we have to make an adjustment to take that out,” Ms. Gibbs said when asked how the advance would be reflected. Board members were told an adjustment would be recorded as soon as the loss became recognizable under accounting rules.

Board members also asked whether the hotel issue would affect the just-closed fiscal year; staff said it would not change the current fiscal year figures but could affect future periods if the advance were determined to be uncollectible.

The treasurer’s report included month-level detail. For September, the presenter reported roughly $1 million in revenue and about $7 million in expenditures; the presenter described a monthly shortfall that had been covered by transfers and reserves. The report also summarized year-to-date sales-tax revenue attributed to CIDC and year-to-date transfers out and incentives, and included a debt table listing year-to-date debt payments.

After the presentation, the board moved to accept the financial report. The motion carried by voice vote with no opposition.

Board members said the hotel discussion earlier in the day at a separate city council meeting had raised public interest and questions about CIDC’s role in downtown financing; the CIDC discussion at this meeting focused on the accounting recognition and potential need to adjust the financial statements if the $16 million advance becomes unrecoverable.