The budget cutting has begun
The budget-cutting has begun. This morning, the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee set a budget for the Idaho State Police for next year that not only leaves out the $9 million-plus fund shift Gov. Butch Otter wanted in order to generate more money for transportation. It also cuts out the governor’s proposal to add six new forensics staffers, at a cost of $637,000, and trims a planned $715,700 investment in mobile data computers by half to $357,900. The joint committee deadlocked 10-10 on a motion to at least add back in half of the new forensics staffers, at a cost of $318,500. Then, the more parsimonious budget passed on a 12-8 vote.
Rep. Frank Henderson, R-Post Falls, urged support for the forensics staffers. The city of Post Falls had to pay more than $4,000 to send out a DNA test in a criminal case to a private lab because the state lab couldn’t complete the test quickly enough, he said. Henderson said the state lab’s current goal is 90 days to turn around DNA tests – and with its current staffing, it only hits that goal 43 percent of the time. Said Sen. Elliot Werk, D-Boise, “More and more of the work that we’re doing is in high-tech forensics. … In reality, justice delayed is justice denied.”
Sen. Jim Hammond, R-Post Falls, spoke out for the mobile data computers for ISP officers. Idaho clearly doesn’t have enough state police officers on its roads, he said. “ISP is staffed very minimally a lot of the time.” With the computers, the existing staff can be more efficient, he said, filing reports and doing other work from the road without having to return to the station. “We are extending the staff we have with these computers,” he said.
Committee Co-Chair Maxine Bell, R-Jerome, urged caution. “There are a lot of things that are needful, and there are a lot of things that are good,” she said. “But at the end of the budget setting, if you’re upside down, it really doesn’t matter. … Tomorrow, there’s going to be something else that isn’t quite adequate. … It just concerns me. I know this won’t be the last time (that lawmakers want) to do more and do better.” Her argument carried the day, with Rep. Darrell Bolz’ substitute motion passing, 12-8.
