Joint Finance hears Department of Finance request for six auditor and IT positions amid cybersecurity, elder‑fraud concerns

The Joint Finance Appropriations Committee on Jan. 21 heard a base budget presentation from the Idaho Department of Finance, which asked for six full‑time positions and $816,600 in ongoing state regulatory funds for fiscal year 2026 to add IT‑focused examiners, investigator positions, and a forensic accountant to its single program covering the Financial Institutions Bureau, Consumer Finance Bureau and Securities Bureau.

Noah Peterson, budget and policy analyst with the Legislative Services Office, reviewed the request and fund structure, saying the department operates largely from state regulatory funds and that about 77.8% of fiscal 2024 expenditures were personnel costs. Peterson also described a $52,600 one‑time request recommended by the Office of Information Technology Services for laptops, docking stations and portable monitors to support field work.

Director Patty Perkins said the agency has seen “a huge increase in cybercrime” and highlighted growing elder‑fraud cases. Perkins described partnerships with the Idaho State Police and other law enforcement to follow money flows and to use specialized tools for investigations. "ISP has been kind enough to purchase those systems and allow us access to them for their cases," Perkins said, adding the department’s investigative staff is small and the workload continues to increase.

Senator Maryanne Wintrow pressed the department to provide more case and workload data to justify the positions, and Senator Cook requested measurable baselines so the committee can evaluate outcome and return on investment if the positions are funded. Peterson and Perkins agreed to provide supporting data to the committee later.

The FY2026 enhancement package detailed position roles and salaries: an additional IT examiner for the Financial Institutions Bureau at $121,300 (100% of policy, salary grade P); a general financial examiner for the Financial Institutions Bureau at the same salary; two Financial Investigator 3 positions focused on IT examination for mortgage/credit services and consumer services at $82,500 (100% of policy, salary grade M); a Financial Investigator 3 for the Securities Bureau specializing in cybersecurity at $82,500; and a forensic accounting‑specialty financial examiner for the Securities Bureau at $82,500. The governor’s recommendation approved all the requested items except for the two Financial Investigator 3 positions requested for the Consumer Finance Bureau.

Peterson noted prior enhancements: in 2024 the department added three positions (mortgage examiner, public outreach specialist, securities technician) and an investigation management software purchase, netting two additional FTEs after HR consolidation moved one position to the Division of Human Resources. The department averages about 92.5% of appropriation spent over fiscal 2021–2024, Peterson said.

Perkins framed the request as a response to evolving threats: “we have a particular concern about the elderly population in the state” and the department is expanding investigative capacity to counter fraud that often involves fintech and cryptocurrency. She pledged to provide the committee with further documentation on caseloads and outcomes.

No formal committee action or vote was recorded during the presentation. Committee members asked for data to quantify workload and cybersecurity damages and asked the agency to return with more concrete metrics so future funding decisions can be evaluated.

The department’s full slide deck, including fund detail for the state regulatory funds, mortgage recovery fund and securities investing/training fund, was cited by Peterson as available in the legislative budget book (LBB pages 5‑0025B and 5‑0025C) and on the committee SharePoint.

The committee moved on after the department concluded its presentation.