Military division seeks supplemental funds for public‑safety communications, vehicle work and hazmat equipment

Officials from the Idaho Military Division told the Joint Finance‑Appropriations Committee they are requesting supplemental and enhancement funding to clear a backlog of vehicles awaiting communications equipment, modernize IT infrastructure for public safety communications and replace outdated hazardous‑materials response equipment.

Legislative analyst Frances Lippett summarized the division’s budget history and introduced the governor’s recommended supplementals, which included work to complete radio installations in 40 Dodge Durangos owned by the Idaho State Police and to expand installation capacity. "The private contract is estimated at $240,000 and the construction work is estimated at $300,000," Lippett said.

Major General Tim Donilon, the state adjutant general, described how supply‑chain issues and a subsequent surge in vehicles created a backlog that the division now seeks to clear. "We got a flood of them at one time ... so we do believe that we can spend this. We're ready to move, as soon as possible to clear the backlog and also create facilities," Donilon said.

The governor also recommended $759,200 for IT infrastructure and licensing that would allow public safety communications to establish its own network independent of the Office of Information Technology Services (ITS). Donilon explained the request includes hardware upgrades and separating the microwave‑based public safety network from ITS control to improve security.

Another major component is an $8.6 million appropriation for the Office of Emergency Management to distribute funding — via cash transfer from the state emergency relief fund — to regional hazardous‑materials response teams. Donilon said regional teams have used the same equipment for about 20 years and cited a 2022 propane spill response along Highway 95 as an example of the demands the teams face. "We have not updated our hazardous response equipment since 2005 ... this request ... is directly to support our first responders for hazmat response," he said.

Lippett also noted a deficiency warrant request of $34,200 related to hazardous‑substance incidents for FY2024 costs the division could not recoup from incident originators. Committee members asked about timing and whether the items should be part of the FY2026 enhancement package; Donilon and the committee discussed practical constraints and execution timelines, with Donilon saying the vehicle work can be contracted immediately and additional installation bays would reduce future backlogs.

The committee also discussed vacancies and hiring: the federal‑state agreements program (which houses the National Guard) carried most vacancies while the Office of Emergency Management runs continuous appropriations for federal disaster aid and public‑safety communications. Donilon said 28 of about 38 vacancies were actively in hiring processes, and federal continuing resolutions complicate staffing authorizations.

Why this matters: The supplemental package targets mission‑critical communications equipment and decades‑old hazmat gear. Committee members focused on timing, execution capacity and whether some items should be budgeted as enhancements rather than supplemental requests.