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Idaho State Tax Commission requests hardware, vehicle replacements and reports FAST collections exceeded ROI
Summary
Tax Commission presented FY26 enhancements including vehicles, ITS security and infrastructure funding, a Quadient lease for certified mail and commissioner compensation adjustments; chairman reported FAST implementation has exceeded projected collections and returned funds to the general fund.
The Idaho State Tax Commission told the Joint Finance‑Appropriations Committee on Feb. 18 that it seeks funding for vehicle replacements, IT security and infrastructure and ongoing maintenance to support the agency’s tax administration systems.
Chairman Jeff McCray and Legislative Services analyst Christopher LaHozet summarized enhancement requests that would increase the commission’s FY26 appropriation by up to about $1.14 million if fully approved. The requests include replacement vehicles (one light‑duty truck at field offices used to seize and transport seized property, and nine replacement vehicles), hardware and ITS security investments (including 171 laptops and multiple monitors), a Quadient certified‑mail lease to support processing at the Chinden campus, and a commissioner compensation adjustment tied to a governor‑recommended 5% change.
McCray highlighted the agency’s FAST tax management software implementation as producing measurable returns. He said the FAST project came in on time, the agency reverted $309,948 (about 26% of the allotted implementation budget) at the close of FY24, and so far the tax commission has collected $34,287,416 associated with FAST work, exceeding the projected $20,000,000 return on investment that was discussed during procurement and implementation.
Analysts provided vehicle‑by‑vehicle documentation in the SharePoint folder for committee members, noting mileage, models and agency justifications. LaHozet pointed out that the light‑duty trucks are used by the compliance program to seize motorized assets (cars, trailers, ATVs) that can later be auctioned to offset delinquent taxes.
Senators asked for more detail on the ongoing contract inflation for FAST maintenance and support. McCray said the FAST system is a licensed software package requiring ongoing licensing, security and development work — including legislative change adaptations — and that the agency would provide a report on the FAST ROI to the committee. He offered to provide the ROI detail to Legislative Services so the committee can review the collections numbers and cost savings.
No formal votes were taken. The commission closed by thanking committee members and noting that the enhancement requests focus on maintaining existing assets and infrastructure necessary to administer taxes efficiently.
Ending: committee staff and the agency will circulate vehicle detail, the ITS replacement breakout and the FAST ROI report to committee members for review before budget decisions.
