Patrick Hodges, deputy director of the Idaho Department of Lands, has been named administrator of the Idaho state Controller's division of statewide accounting; he’ll start his new post Sept. 28. State Controller Brandon Woolf announced the appointment; Hodges  started his state government career in the controller’s office in 1999, before joining the Department of Lands in 2008. He was named deputy director there in 2014. He holds a master’s degree in business administration and a bachelor’s degree in production and operations management, both from Boise State University.

Woolf said the current statewide accounting administrator, Meredeth Hackney, is retiring after 34 years with the state. "With Merideth's retirement, the people of Idaho are losing a consummate professional and committed public servant whose expansive knowledge of Idaho's accounting systems and practices is unrivaled," Woolf said. “Yet, having worked closely with Patrick over the past decade and a half, I'm confident in his abilities to manage our division of statewide accounting. He's smart, hardworking, guided by bedrock principles, and uniquely suited to oversee the state's accounting systems."

"Leaving the Department of Lands was a difficult decision, in that I have tremendous respect for department's director, Tom Schultz, and the many dedicated employees of the agency," Hodges said in a statement. "However, the Controller's office was my first home in state government, and I'm excited to return home and honored that state Controller Woolf has trusted me to oversee Idaho's accounting operations."