A state government watchdog group says each North Carolina resident would have to cough up an additional $16,300 to satisfy the financial commitments the state has made, primarily to state employees and retired government workers.

The Institute for Truth in Accounting says North Carolina is violating the state’s constitutional balanced budget requirement, because the state does not fund its retirement system adequately.

“A state budget is not balanced if past costs, including those for employees’ retirement benefits, are pushed into the future,” said Sheila Weinberg, chief executive officer of IFTA.

According to its analysis of North Carolina’s comprehensive annual financial report, the institute says the state has only $23.2 billion in assets available to cover $66.6 billion in liabilities.

Nearly half the liabilities are unfunded promises the state made for employees’ health care in retirement. The 2010 CAFR says the retiree health benefit has a $32.8 billion unfunded liability.

“The General Assembly absolutely needs to take action to address the unfunded healthcare liability,” State Treasurer Janet Cowell said, through spokeswoman Heather Strickland.

Recent history — and North Carolina’s current fiscal state — indicate that action is unlikely. The state never has funded the retiree health benefit fully, and now must make a $3 billion annual required contribution over the next 30 years to catch up.

Added to the retiree health benefit liability are liabilities in the state’s various pension plans. The Teachers’ and State Employees’ plan is the largest. It is facing a new unfunded liability. In the current budget, the General Assembly chose to not fund the pension fully, marking the first time the state had shortchanged the pension in the plan’s nearly 70-year history. Cowell’s office estimates the annual required contribution for the pension to be in excess of $1 billion.

However, Cowell said there is no immediate risk to retirees. “The N.C. pension fund is currently one of the most financially sound plans in the nation. There is adequate liquidity to meet all current obligations,” she said.

Combining the two annual required contributions would amount to a $4 billion bill to taxpayers. That’s in addition to the state’s acknowledged deficit of about $3.5 billion.

“It’s impossible to hold elected officials accountable if they hide the cost of government,” Weinberg said. “By hiding the cost of government, they’re able to expand government beyond what taxpayers find acceptable.”

Anthony Greco is an associate editor of Carolina Journal.