MONTICELLO – “It was a positive year for Sullivan County, as far as an audit perspective,” said Drescher and Malecki Accountant Matt Montalbo at the Legislature’s Executive Committee Meeting on August 20.

Drescher and Malecki’s third-party financial audit found that the county had accurate reporting of its financial operations in 2025 but flagged high employee turnover and declining revenue as weaknesses to its financial strength.

Montalbo said the county’s expenditures exceeded revenues in 2025 by about $11 million and that sales tax in Sullivan County showed an unanticipated decrease of $5 million from 2024.

“Our primary role is to look at your financial records,” said Montalbo, “and provide a report that they fairly represent Sullivan County’s financial position.”

He said having reliable financial records is important for making budget decisions and also for third-party bond rating agencies that rely on accurate recordkeeping.

Montalbo said Sullivan County showed revenue increases across the board in 2021 as the economy was “ramping up again” after the pandemic shutdown. Then, he said, inflation took hold.

Montalbo said the cost of mandated social service programs for the county increased by over 50% from 2021 to 2025. “The federal government can push costs to the state level,” he explained. “And the state can push it down to the county level.”

He said that expense is becoming more difficult to absorb for all New York counties, including Sullivan.

When asked by Legislator Joseph Perrello if other counties were having the same problem, Montalbo said they were: “On average, it’s closer to 40% [increase].” He said coming changes in the SNAP program and Medicaid from the federal government will mean additional mandated costs for New York counties.

Montalbo said the money advanced to the Care Center to operate over the last five years has grown. “It’s at a level where it’s non-spendable because you didn’t anticipate getting that money back within the next fiscal year.”

“So that money is actually gone,” said Perrello.

“The cash is out the door,” confirmed Montalbo. “It’s on the books as a receivable that says ‘you owe us this and we’re hoping to get it back.’”

Montalbo identified staffing and specifically employee turnover as a major concern. “We’ve seen so many transitions and retirements in a lot of the major positions in your major departments,” he said.

Montalbo warned that turnover, without proactive succession planning, can seriously interrupt county operations.