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Sullivan County audit issues clean opinion but flags tightening revenue trends
Summary
External auditors issued an unmodified (clean) opinion on Sullivan County's 2024 financial statements, reported a roughly $8 million surplus and a total fund balance near $95 million, but warned that federal aid reductions and flat sales tax could tighten budgets in coming years.
Matt Montalvo, the county's external auditor from Drescher Malecki, told the Sullivan County Legislature the firm issued an unmodified opinion on the county's financial statements for the year ended Dec. 31, 2024.
"We did move forward with what's referred to as an unmodified opinion," Montalvo said, noting that an unmodified opinion is the best outcome from an audit standpoint. He told legislators the audit found no material weaknesses or reportable findings and no compliance findings in the single-audit of federal funds.
Montalvo reviewed five-year trends: revenues and expenditures narrowed after pandemic-era gains, and Sullivan County recorded an approximate $8,000,000 surplus in 2024 with a reported total fund balance around $95,000,000. He cautioned, however, that the county faces longer-term pressure as some federal stimulus funding wanes and sales-tax growth flattens.
"From '23 to '24, a lot more of a modest increase... that being our biggest revenue source, the fact that it's almost running flat ... may even start to decrease," he said, warning that counties statewide are starting to see expenditures exceed revenues.
The presentation also covered GASB reporting for long-term liabilities and the distinction between accounting estimates and cash obligations. Montalvo recommended maintaining current fund-balance practices and preparing for tighter budgets, noting that interest-earning boosts and federal monies cannot be relied upon indefinitely.
The auditor invited questions and provided comparative statewide context for the legislature to consider as it prepares budgets in the coming fiscal years.
