ITD cites retention gaps; asks JFAC to fund targeted pay increases and new frontline positions

Idaho Transportation Department leaders asked the Joint Finance‑Appropriations Committee to approve targeted pay adjustments and noted modest progress hiring new frontline staff after a FY25 workforce line‑item grant of 53 positions.

The department asked JFAC for a targeted supplemental compensation (CEC) increase affecting roughly 505 maintenance career‑path steps—a request that ITD said would raise those pay steps by $2.50 per hour and costs several million dollars. Director Scott Stokes told the committee ITD has been losing an average of about 78 maintenance employees per year over the last three years out of roughly 400 maintenance positions, and that entry‑level turnover causes substantial training expense because new hires often require CDL training and months of on‑the‑job qualification for equipment such as snowplows.

Stokes said the 53 positions approved last year are mostly frontline district positions (transportation technicians, assistant engineering technicians and operations team leaders). "We're right at near 50 positions recruited," he told the committee. The department also reported roughly 60–70 vacancies systemwide, which Stokes said is low for an agency of ITD’s size but still leaves hiring needs.

Committee members asked how pay increases would affect retention and whether higher pay simply shifts employees to counties, cities or private employers. Stokes and staff said most recruitment competition is with local governments (counties and cities) rather than private employers, and that improving entry pay and advancing the entire horizontal pay chart can reduce churn and lower long‑term training costs.

Ending: Lawmakers sought further cost detail and comparisons to local jurisdictions; ITD said it would provide additional analysis of pay‑step impacts and how the proposed targeted CEC would interact with other compensation items the committee may consider.