Idaho Department of Administration budget review flags governor's housing fund, new staffing requests

The Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee reviewed the Department of Administration's budget and was told the department's governor's housing fund will be depleted in 2026 unless the legislature appropriates general fund dollars.

Analyst Frances Lippett of Legislative Services told the committee the governor's housing fund currently provides a monthly housing stipend set at $4,551 and noted the department previously requested $30,000 for fiscal 2025 and had a subsequent request described at different points in the presentation. "For fiscal year 2026, the department is now requesting a $60,600 appropriation from the general fund," Lippett said in the presentation; a later slide in the same staff overview listed $660,600. The transcript records both figures and the committee asked staff to provide a reconciled, written breakdown.

Why it matters: the governor's housing fund is continuously appropriated for a stipend and for acquisition, construction and maintenance of a governor's residence under the department's statutory authority. Without an appropriation, committee materials noted the fund "will be fully depleted by August 2026," which would eliminate the stipend and any ongoing activity paid from that fund.

The department also detailed personnel and operating needs. Director Steve Bailey said the department supports the governor's housing committee and "we do have a Governor's Housing Committee that meets once a year to talk about that and figure out what they want to do in terms of the Governor's Mansion and the ongoing stipend." Analyst Lippett told the committee the department is authorized 34 full‑time positions and has filled roughly 92 percent of that authorization.

Risk and insurance staffing was a focal point. Faith Knowlton, administrator for the department's insurance programs, described workload pressures: "We have one analyst that is responsible for over $11,000,000,000 in property. . . . It would be possible for our staff of one to be able to [catch errors], which is the reason we are requesting this position." She said the office found agencies sometimes list buildings that have been demolished or list replacement values that improperly include land, producing over‑insured values that cost the state money.

Lippett described multiple requested ongoing enhancements for fiscal 2026 including one personnel technician for the office of group insurance, one property values analyst for risk management, and a financial specialist to assist with high invoice volume. The department asked to transfer a prior capital outlay appropriation to operating for a facility condition assessment software purchase and trimmed a one‑time vehicle request to $8,500 to buy a trailer after repurposing a vehicle.

Committee action and next steps: lawmakers asked staff for additional detail on continuous appropriations and on the governor's housing request history. Representative Tanner requested a breakout of ongoing continuous appropriations tied to the retained risk fund. Lippett agreed to provide the detailed fund rollups and continuous appropriation lists to the committee.

The hearing moved next to the permanent building fund after committee members questioned department staff about vacancy rates, deferred maintenance shares of operating costs and the department's capital work at the Chinden Campus.