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Auditor: Sullivan County care center shows $16.5 million accounting deficit; general fund loan noted
Summary
Audit slides show the county's enterprise fund (care center) with an accounting deficit of about $16,500,000 tied largely to an interfund loan; the auditor said operating losses narrowed but long-term obligations and reconciliation uncertainties remain.
Legislators pressed the county's external auditor about the financial position of the county-run care center (the enterprise fund). Auditor Matt Montalvo said the enterprise fund showed what the financial statements reported as a roughly $16,500,000 deficit, driven in large part by an interfund advance from the general fund that the auditor described as pushing liabilities onto the enterprise fund's balance sheet.
"That 16,500,000 is more of like, if it came due, you'd have to pay these," Montalvo said, and he emphasized the number is an accounting representation tied to long-term liabilities and interfund accounting. He added the general fund had advanced roughly $23,000,000 and that current assets were about $7,500,000, with operating cash losses narrowing to about $1,400,000 in the most recent year.
County members questioned whether the interfund advances were intended as permanent contributions or as loans to be repaid; the auditor said reconciliation could change the reported liability and cautioned that the figure is cumulative over many years. The auditor did not recommend a specific operational action beyond noting the fiscal impact on the general fund and suggesting the Legislature consider the implications when weighing policy choices for the care center.
The presentation and follow-up Q&A left the long-term status of interfund recovery unresolved; legislators described it as an item for further examination in budget work and possible contractual reconciliation.
