JFAC kicks off agency budget hearings with guv’s office, DFM

Presenting the budget requests for the governor’s office and the governor’s Division of Financial Management this morning, DFM chief Wayne Hammon said the governor’s office has eight staff vacancies, and DFM has four. “We continue to do the same amount of work with less bodies, as has been the norm in the rest of state government,” Hammon told the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee. Answering questions from lawmakers, Hammon said the governor’s office remains authorized for those positions in case the state chooses to return to that staffing level in the future. The governor’s office budget request for next year doesn’t include any increases; the DFM budget has two: A request to hire a second economist, bringing the office back up to its traditional number; and a $45,000 line item to upgrade the budget development computer system. Hammon said, “$45,000 will not fix the system. The system is old, it’s dying a slow and painful death. $45,000 is enough to keep it on life support for another year or two.”

Hammon said he’s been in talks with legislative budget director Cathy Holland-Smith about development of a single budget system that could work for DFM, the Legislature, and all state agencies. “That would be expensive, several hundred thousand dollars, so this is not the year for that,” Hammon said. Several lawmakers, including Rep. Wendy Jaquet, D-Ketchum, had questions about the proposal to bring on a second state economist. Hammon said, “I strongly believe and the governor supports that we need a second economist.” He added, “We need a second set of eyes.”

The joint budget committee is beginning its process of budget hearings for state agencies; Hammon’s was the first. Also scheduled this morning is PERSI, the Public Employee Retirement System of Idaho; the joint committee then will hear several requests for deficiency warrants and supplemental appropriations, which are expenditures to be made from the current year’s budget. On Friday, JFAC will hold budget hearings on the Legislative Services Office, the state controller and the secretary of state; on Monday, it’ll begin digging into budgets for the state’s largest agency, the Department of Health & Welfare.