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Sullivan County legislature holds public hearing on SUNY Sullivan 2025–26 budget; residents raise transparency concerns
Summary
College leaders told the legislature they are not seeking additional county funds for the 2025–26 operating budget and outlined revenue and expense breakdowns; public commenters urged more transparency and compliance with the Open Meetings Law.
The Sullivan County Legislature opened a public hearing Aug. 21, 2025, on the tentative 2025–26 operating budget for Sullivan County Community College (SUNY Sullivan) at the County Government Center in Monticello.
College President David Potash, joined by Judge Anthony King of the college board of trustees and Sean Welsh, vice president for finance and administration, presented an overview of the college’s finances and enrollment trends and answered questions before the hearing opened to the public. Potash said the college is not asking the county for additional support for the coming year and described the past year as “a year of transition.”
Potash framed the college’s immediate priorities as stabilizing personnel and institutional systems, maintaining accreditation and pursuing enrollment growth. He said the college recently submitted an updated accreditation report to Middle States and that early fall enrollment was “about 82 students ahead of last year.” He added there is “no plan to close any program, no plan to make any radical changes.”
Welsh presented the budget’s revenue and expense breakdowns. He said tuition and student fees make up about $5.3 million, roughly 35% of the operating budget; sponsor support from Sullivan County is about $4.3 million (29%); and direct state operating aid is roughly $3.2 million (21.6%). Welsh said remaining revenue from grants, chargebacks and other offsets accounts for about 13.4% of the budget. On the expense side, he said roughly 86% of the budget is personnel and benefits, with direct salaries of about $7.9 million and benefits of about $4.7 million (a roughly 60% effective fringe rate). He listed college infrastructure at about $3.6 million, library/enterprise costs near $800,000, and utilities/maintenance near $1.5 million.
Welsh and Potash described restricted grants that have supported STEM and health sciences investments, including upgraded simulation equipment and student supports such as transportation, childcare and book vouchers. Welsh also noted a private three-year commitment to faculty salaries in the health sciences from a named foundation and said SUNY Reconnect has helped boost adult learner enrollment. Potash said the board’s finance subcommittee will pursue a longer-term financial-stability planning process, beginning in September, to address staffing and legacy information-system issues.
During public comment, an extended speaker identified only in the transcript as a resident urged the legislature to postpone action and require the college board to correct what the speaker described as missing board minutes, absent video records for certain post‑COVID meetings and other transparency problems. The commenter said, “You cannot have a discussion about the budget if you don't know where the money is going and how it's being spent,” and recommended recessing the hearing for a week to allow the college’s board to convene an emergency meeting and correct the records.
Another public commenter asked whether the county would be asked to cover costs for uninsured catastrophic repairs. Sean Welsh and President Potash responded that the college carries insurance and gave the example of a recent HVAC geothermal leak that insurance covered; Welsh said the repair cost was about $66,000.
After public comment the legislature moved and seconded a motion to close the public hearing; the motion was approved and the hearing closed.
The college and county officials noted that a capital request to the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York (DASNY) is planned for the coming year. Potash and Welsh encouraged continued county support while describing internal steps the college will take to improve financial controls and information infrastructure.
The public hearing is one step in the legislature’s review of the tentative SUNY Sullivan budget; the notice read to open the hearing identified the tentative budget as having been introduced at the legislature’s July 24, 2025 meeting and scheduled the public hearing for Aug. 21, 2025 at 10:20 a.m. at the County Government Center.
